Pokemon: Steel Grey Version
by topgun308
Summary: When an ODST gets separated from his squad during a drop, he finds himself on a strange world, inhabited by the most surreal creatures he's ever met. And they just might be what the UNSC need to help fight the Covenant...
1. Touchdown

CHAPTER 1

The Pod discharged with a hiss and hurtled off into the distance. He looked about at the vast space. His squad mates' pods kept close together.

The UNSC frigate above was locked in a bitter fight to the death with a Covenant Corvette. Both ships blasted each other like boxers.

He turned and saw, to his horror, the frigate finally give in, exploding in a massive fireball.

"There she blows," came a solemn voice on his radio.

The pod jerked violently as the shockwave hit it, knocking it off-course.

"Oh shit!" he cursed, fighting to wrest back control from the G-forces. The big, blue-green ball of a planet in front of him slowly veered out to the left as his pod strayed away.

"Crap!" exclaimed another squad-mate, "We just lost the new guy!"

"No, no, no, no, no, NO," he begged frantically, urging the thrusters to straighten up. He was helpless as the pod started making a b-line for another planet far off in the distance.

If he could make it there, he figured, he still had a chance for survival.

He turned his head as his squad slowly turned into specks. He could see the pods turn into streaks of white as they entered the atmosphere, and then disappeared.

He tried to calm himself. Eye on the prize, he thought, and get to that planet over there.

The planet loomed over him like a giant. As the pod rocketed along, he could feel the temperature rising. There were flashes of white, yellow and red outside.

He nervously watched the thermometer rise, praying that the pod would hold together. The Pod pulled through with a loud boom, breaking the sound barrier. He held his nerves as the ground raced towards him.

The pod jerked as he reversed the thrusters to slow his fall. There was a vast forest below him. He could see several cities far off in the distance.

He held on tightly as the altimeter crossed 5,000 ft.

The pod slammed into the tree-line. He tensed still, trying to not get thrown about. The pod smashed through several branches before coming to a violent stop. He hit his head on the console. Even with his helmet on, the force knocked him out. Everything went black.

...

...

He made a low moan as he finally came round. He looked at the world around him. His pod was wedged between two thick branches, but the canopy was facing straight down.

One by one, he hit the buttons that triggered the explosive door bolts. The canopy fell to the forest floor with a thud.

He slowly lowered himself out and reached to grab a branch. His grip slipped and he fell. His legs gave way on impact, and pain shot up his leg. He lay there for several minutes, looking around and waiting for the pain to die down. There were trees and shrubs in every direction.

He slowly nursed himself up, leaning on the tree for support. He scanned the area. There were no sign of any Covenant here. He looked up and saw his M7 hanging limp from the pod. He looked about for a fallen twig. When he found one long enough, he poked the M7. It fell out and into his arms and he magnetized it to his back.

There was a city somewhere around here, he thought. If I can get there, I can get help.

As he limped on, a red dot flashed across his motion tracker. He tensed as he turned, and saw a shrub flutter. The dot disappeared. Must be an animal, he figured, relaxing.

He looked about, starting to admire the scenery. What drives the Covenant to destroy places like this? He thought. The light shone through the trees, and the rays painted a pretty picture.

A flock of birds flew overhead. This place probably isn't even aware of what the Covenant has in store when they get here.

Another red dot zipped across his motion tracker. He turned. Okay, something was following him.

He slowly paced to the large shrub. He split apart the branches.

A purple blur launched itself at his head. It obscured his visor, scratching and biting his helmet.

What the hell? He thought as he grabbed a hold of it. He held the creature at arm's length.

It was a small, purple rodent, with large red eyes. It growled as it swiped at him, trying to wriggle free. Funny looking thing, he thought. He dropped it to the ground and it ran off in a flash.

The rats here are HUGE, he thought as he walked on. That thing must've been a foot long. What other weird and wonderful creatures call this place home? He couldn't begin to imagine.

...

He was beginning to think he was lost. He had been wandering around this forest aimlessly for hours. There were worms the size of dinner plates here, and he swore he saw a plant move without a reason.

The local birds pestered him to no end, swooping him like dive-bombers. He quickly became irritated by their antics and made an example of one by catching it mid-swoop and snapping its neck like a screw-top bottle. They haven't bothered him since.

"Ugh," he sighed, sitting down against a tree, "This place sucks". An ODST like himself of all people didn't have a clue as to what to do.

Off in the distance, he heard the rumble of an explosion. "Or maybe not," he noted. He got up and started walking to where he heard the noise come from.

He heard several thumps and the snapping of twigs. What could that be? He was wary as he made his approach. Was the Covenant here already?

He saw three tattered, burnt and sordid-looking figures emerge from the shrubs. There was a young man with... purple hair? That didn't make sense. What a poofter, he thought. There was a young woman with red hair, who was followed by... a cat?

What the hell? He thought as he watched these wrecks drag themselves along, not even noticing his presence.

"Let's use the classic pit-trap, he says!" muttered the red head sarcastically, "Great idea! Next time, I'M coming up with the plan!"

"Hey," retorted the cat, "it was a better idea than YOU idiots will ever come up with!"

He did a double-take. That cat just talked? In perfect English? What a weird, messed up world...

He watched them as they limped off into the distance, arguing amongst themselves. He just shook his head and continued walking.

It wasn't long before he found the sight of the explosion. There was a large patch of burnt ground in a small clearing. What could've caused this? He wondered.

A red blip scampered across the motion tracker. Just another local, he figured, so he paid it no heed. A second blip crossed the screen in hot pursuit. He heard growling as he turned and saw the bushes flutter. The red blips came back up, and the animals burst into view. A large, orange-brown rodent didn't watch where it was going, and ploughed straight into his leg with a thud, knocking its head on his knee.

It looked dazed for a second before looking up at him, allowing him a closer view at this strange creature. It had large yellow blotches on its cheeks and the funniest-looking ears he'd ever seen. They were brown with cream insides and split into two points at the end, with the lower point ending in small curls. It also had a long, thin black tail that ended in a humorously large yellow zigzag.

Its dark-brown eyes met his gaze, although his polarized visor obscured its view of him. Despite being an animal, it was capable of facial gestures, which at the moment gave away its shock at the ODST's appearance.

Both parties stared at each other. He glanced and saw another creature emerge from the shrubs.

This one was much larger. It was red with black stripes, and had a large, cream-coloured mane that covered its entire face except its eyes and ears. Its bushy tail was cream, and there were small cream patches flaring off its legs.

It had a rather pissed-off glare on its face, was crouched low, had its hackles up, and was emitting a low, menacing growl.

He glanced from the rodent to the angry dog. The rodent scampered behind him at the sight of the dog.

He scrambled to put the pieces together as the dog slowly crept forward, still growling. "Wait... what's going on?" he asked.

Stupid question, he thought instantly. This mutt couldn't understand him.

The dog made several barking noises in response, "Arc! Arc! Arc! Arc!"

Or maybe it could, he thought. The rodent at his feet was trembling and whimpering, backing away slowly, he noticed. Either the rodent pissed it off, or the dog is wild and wants a meal. He couldn't simply assume the truth, so he had to tread carefully here.

"Well, if we all just settle down and- WOAH!" he leapt out of the way in time as the dog SPAT FIRE at him in a powerful stream. The blaze scorched the ground in its wake. He looked at the dog in a new sense of fear. A dog that breathes fire like a dragon? What IS this place? If only we had THESE on Harvest... he thought. He saw the mouse scramble up a tree. The dog rushed to the bottom, barking at up the tree at it.

That dog's gonna kill it! He thought. Then again, he killed a bird in annoyance before, so he couldn't really talk. In the tree, the mouse desperately clung to the branch. He saw that it had a very frantic and pleading expression on its face. _Please... help me_, it seemed to beg.

"Arcanine!" roared a commanding voice.

Everyone turned and saw a Police Officer emerge from the bushes.

Of course! He thought, now it made sense. The dog, whose name seemed to be Arcanine, was a Police dog. It made one last growl at the mouse and walked to its mistress' side.

"Is this your Raichu?" she asked.

What? He wondered, looking at the rodent. He met its pleading gaze. "Uh..."

What had this...Raichu... done to cross the law? He certainly didn't want anything to do with a trouble-maker. It could be faking its 'Help me' performance, for all he knew. Several scenarios started flashed through his head.

"Hey you! Answer me!" growled the Policewoman.

He snapped from his thoughts and shook his head.  
>"Alright, do you know if it belongs to a trainer or if it's wild?" she continued.<p>

What the heck is a 'trainer'? He thought. He shrugged his shoulders.

"You don't know?" she asked sceptically. He nodded.

"Do you even speak English?" she asked, slowly this time. He nodded again.

"Then I'm going to conduct a test. I challenge you to a Pokémon battle! If the Raichu is yours, it will respond to your commands!" she declared.

Wait...what? What the heck is a Pokémon battle? What the heck's a Pokémon? His mind swirled with questions and confusion.

"Uh...what's a Pokémon battle?" he asked sheepishly.

The Officer stared at him. "You...don't know?" she asked, dumbstruck.

"Wouldn't have a clue," he said.

"Well, if you're with him," she declared pointing at the Raichu, "then you could be FAKING not knowing!"

"What? No, I seriously don't know anything," he said.

"Well then," she said with a sneer, "You're about to have a crash-course in battling then. Arcanine!"

Arcanine snapped to attention.

"I choose you!" she commanded.

The large dog jumped in front of her, making a battle pose.

He glanced at the mouse in the trees, which visibly gulped.

"Uh...this is probably gonna suck" he said.

The Policewoman stared at him. "Well, order it in already!" she said impatiently.

"What, like you did?" he asked.

"YES already!" she yelled, "Now quite procrastinating and let's GO!"

"Well...here goes nothing...Raichu."

The mouse looked at him.

"Let's do this," he said, gesturing it down.

"Catch," said the Officer, throwing him a small electronic device.

"What's this?" he asked.

"It's a Pokedex," she replied, "If you seriously don't know ANYTHING about it, then this will help you. Scan the Raichu with it and it will give you the information you clearly need".

He examined it closely. It flipped open and the dual screens lit up. He held it in front of the mouse in the trees.

It spoke in an electronic voice, "_Raichu, the Mouse Pokémon. __It can lose 100,000-volt bursts of electricity, instantly downing foes several times its size_".

The screens showed him a picture of it and several graphs that made no sense at all to him. There was a box that said '_Moves_', with the words _Thunder_, _Focus Blast_, _Quick Attack_ and _Volt Tackle_.

"What the heck..." He muttered.

"Are you done?" she asked. He nodded and threw back the Pokedex.

"Now let's get this over with!" she demanded.

He nodded in her direction.

"Alright Shorty," he said to Raichu, "Let's see what you can do".

...

They spread themselves apart in a small clearing. The Policewoman stood on one side with Arcanine and the ODST stood on the other with Raichu.

"Alright!" said the officer, "Let's go! Arcanine, use Flamethrower!"

Arcanine repeated his fire-spitting technique from before and the blast hurtled towards Raichu.

"Dodge it," He said frantically.

Raichu was eager to comply. The blast narrowly missed. Now, let's see what you're capable of, he thought.

"Raichu...attack with Thunder".

The mouse complied and tensed itself. A blast of _lightning _emitted from the yellow spots on its cheeks, which engulfed Arcanine.

When Raichu finished, the dog convulsed in pain for several seconds. Electrical sparks criss-crossed its body. Soon, the effects wore off, and Arcanine shook it off, still standing.

"Trying to go for paralysis, eh?" remarked the cop, "Are you sure this is your first battle?"

"Paralysis?" He asked confused, "What's that?"

"Never mind. Arcanine, use Flamethrower again!"

Let's try this, he thought. "Raichu, Quick Attack!"

As Arcanine launched its attack, Raichu rushed towards it, leaving a white contrail in its wake. It slammed into Arcanine's chest in a tackle as the fire-blast left its mouth. The dog reeled back under the force of the blow, but other than that, seemed unfazed. The fire-blast barely missed Raichu's head.

Raichu retreated back, as Arcanine regained its footing.

"Arcanine," said the cop, "let's finish this with Crunch!"

Arcanine rushed at the small rodent in front of it.

His mind buzzed furiously. How could he find a way to work his military training into this? If he could teach Raichu some techniques of his own, he could take it with him when he leaves this place, and they could make a deadly team!

Raichu seemed to be a fairly intelligent creature. He'd seen some strange shit in his short time here, so it could be possible.

Time seemed to slow down as his brain kicked into overdrive. Focus on this fight, he thought. Arcanine was still a fair distance away, but the gap was closing. An idea came to mind. Hopefully, this mouse could pull it off.

"Raichu," he said, "When I say 'jump', you jump, ok?"

Raichu nodded.

Good, he thought, it can at least understand me.

The gap between Arcanine and its target was closing in as it bared its fangs. Raichu looked at him uneasily, waiting for him.

3...2...1... "Now!" he yelled.

Raichu jumped straight up. Arcanine seemed to sail underneath, just as gravity kicked in. Raichu landed on its back. Arcanine stopped and started shaking about in an effort to get it off.

"Now, use Focus Blast!"

Raichu clung on tightly with its feet, as a small, pale-blue orb appeared in between its stubby arms. The orb rapidly grew in size until it was about the size of a soccer ball. It raised the ball above it, the orb magically floated in space as it followed its movements.

Arcanine turned its head and looked in shock as Raichu rammed the orb down on its head with all its might.

There was a blinding light and a resounding explosion that threw Raichu into the air. Dust flew everywhere. The ODST and the Officer shielded their eyes.

When the dust settled, Raichu had landed nearby. Arcanine was lying on the ground, struggling to get back up. Slowly, but surely, the dog shakily got to its feet, determined to beat this rat.

"You've got some promising skills," remarked the Policewoman, "But I'm not losing this! Arcanine, let's finish this with Flare Blitz!"

Arcanine eased into a jog, which became a full sprint. Suddenly, it burst into flames.

He was shocked at the sight. Arcanine could set itself on fire, and survive? That was new. If only the others could see this!

He blinked from his trance and conjured another idea.

"Raichu, use Volt Tackle and aim for its legs!"

The mouse took a deep breath as it stared down its opponent.

It started sprinting at the blazing dog, and as it did, became alight with raw electricity, leaving a yellow contrail.

It seemed to hug the ground in its sprint, as he instructed, compared to Arcanine which made big, leaping bounds.

The two blazing creatures smashed into each other at full sprint. There was another blinding light, followed up with an explosion that shook the ground. He was almost thrown back when the shockwave struck him.

He reeled back, shielding his eyes.

The dust cloud took fifteen nerve-wracking seconds to dissipate.

The two combatanants stared each other down, several metres apart. Both were covered in dirt and grime (somehow) and were panting heavily.

Finally, Arcanine collapsed.

The Policewoman stared in shock, "You...won".

His chest filled with pride. That's right bitch, he thought, don't fuck with ODSTs. We'll kick your ass any day, with anything!

Raichu ran over to him, hugging his leg. "Rai-rai!" it exclaimed happily. It had a husky voice for a mouse.

The defeated cop wandered over. "Since you won, I'll let you off...for now," she said. She straightened up, "But if you cause any more trouble, I will beat you and arrest you!"

She held up a small ball from her belt. It was red on top and white on the bottom, and had a small white circle where the two colours met.

A red beam of energy flashed from the circle which struck Arcanine's limp, unconscious form. It also turned into energy, which then retracted back to the ball.

"What's that?" he asked. He'd never seen a device like that in his life.

"It's a Pokeball," she explained, "it's used to capture and store Pokémon".

With that, she turned and left.

...

He closely examined his new companion, which was strolling along side him. From behind, it had two brown stripes across its back.

This strange creature was almost unreal to him. He was never told anything about animals capable of supernatural powers back in school, not even in SOSE or anything like that.

To see it take down an opponent easily 3 times its size was incredible. If only these types of animals were present during the Reach campaign...


	2. Northbound

CHAPTER 2

The forest was huge. There were no visible paths nearby, and now that He had Raichu with him, the wildlife was pestering him again. This gave him the all opportunities he needed.

"Alright, I'm gonna run through this ONE more time," he said, squatting down to Raichu's level while holding a squirming bird by the head in his hands. Raichu was watching carefully, holding a second bird in a similar manner, although struggling to hold it down with its stubby paws.

"You grab him here...and here," he explained, holding one hand on its beak and another on the back of its head, "and twist". He quickly pulled on it, and the bird's neck snapped in a sickening crunch. It went limp, and he chucked it away.

Raichu mimicked his grips and pulled. The bird screamed in pain. It dropped it in surprise and the bird flapped about like a madman.

He sighed, picked up his knife and slit the bird's throat. "Next time, it has to be a quick and simple jerk," he said, using his hands for emphasis, "too slow and it won't work".

Raichu nodded.

He examined the mound of corpses that had started to pile up. He was surprised at Raichu's learning curve, mastering several basic techniques in just a few hours, with few exceptions. He remembered taking several weeks to get that all correct.

They buried the deceased practice targets and started walking.

Raichu was grasping the ideas, he mused. Imagine how awesome it'd be to see an entire Covenant platoon or two wiped out by a small mouse. The idea alone made him chuckle. But first, it'd have to completely master his style of fighting, but this mouse was smarter than any animal he'd encountered before, so he had a feeling it could be done.

He snapped from his train of thought as Raichu started tapping his leg. He glanced down at it.

"Raichu, rai-rai!" it said, gesturing to its open mouth.

"Oh, you want something to eat?"

It nodded.

"Alright," he said removing his backpack, "Let's see what we have here".

Working hard all afternoon must've worked up an appetite, he thought. He noticed Raichu eyeing his M7 with curiosity.

He pulled out a small sandwich and removed the plastic wrapping. Raichu snatched it from him and greedily gobbled it down.

It licked its lips with a grin. It looked at him pleadingly for another one.

"No, one is enough," he said, "these needs to last until we can get more in town...wherever that is".

There was the rumble of an explosion in the distance. They perked up at this. That's the second time now, he thought, what could be causing them?

"Let's go check it out," he said, looking at a plume of smoke rising in the distance.

He saw three black specks rocket into the sky and disappear in a twinkle. What the hell? What was that? He started jogging, with Raichu in tow.

He came to a pathway and saw two figures walking away in the distance. They must know the way to town, he thought.

He paused as a red blip approached him on the motion tracker. He heard the rustling of leaves and a young boy emerged.

The boy had a strange sense of fashion, wearing a half-completed suit of armour that reminded Him of the cartoons He watched as a kid. The boy also had a short katana on his belt, along with two small poke balls.

Both of them stared at each other from head to toe, confused at the other's outfit. The boy noticed Raichu by his leg.

"Are you a trainer?" asked the boy finally.

"I guess you could say that," He replied.

"Then my name is Samurai, and I challenge you to a battle!" the boy declared, unsheathing the sword and holding it inches from His face.

Another one? He thought. These people seem to have a theme of competition between animal fighters. He glanced at Raichu, "what do you think Shorty?"

Raichu made a slight nod with a determined expression.

"Then fine," He said to the boy, now known as Samurai, "I accept your challenge".

...

They stood several metres apart on the rocky path. Samurai pulled a ball from his belt, yelling "Pinsir, I choose you!" as he threw it.

The poke ball suddenly ruptured and a red beam of energy formed into a big, cream-coloured beetle-looking thing. It had two vicious-looking horns on its head, and had stick-like limbs.

The polarised visor on His helmet hid His disgusted expression. It's an ugly-lookin' thing, He thought.

"We just came off a bad losing streak," explained Samurai, "So know I seek to break that streak for personal redemption. So prepare to lose, anonymous one! Pinsir, use Horn Attack!"

Pinsir brought its head low in a running charge as its horns started glowing white.

"Raichu, jump and use Thunder!" He said.

Raichu launched itself up. Pinsir couldn't stop until after the mouse had cleared him. It turned as Raichu launched its attack.

Pinsir convulsed in pain as 10,000 volts of raw power surged through its body. Samurai cringed, shielding his eyes from the bright glow.

When Raichu relinquished, Pinsir stood still, scorched to a cinder as electricity continued to criss-crossed it. After a few seconds, it slumped over in defeat.

Raichu gave Him a prideful smile. He nodded in return.

He noticed Samurai struggling to lift his jaw off the ground.

"Two curb-stomps in one day," He mused as he walked off with Raichu beside him, "what an eventful place this is".

Now he had to catch up with those other people, which had disappeared from view.

...

"Oh finally," He said as He left the forest.

Off in the distance, against the stark backdrop of a large mountain range, was a small town.

As he passed the outer perimeter, He saw a sign saying _Pewter City_. They call this a city? He wondered. There were only a handful of buildings here.

A small town meant a small population, and He easily picked out the two figures from earlier in time as they entered a building marked with a symbol resembling a poke ball. He noticed one of them had a small, yellow creature with him.

He stood for several minutes looking through the large, glass window. He saw them walk up to a counter, where a pink-haired clerk in a nurse's uniform started making conversation. Although He couldn't hear them, he watched as the boy in a red hat and blue jacket with a green, white and red backpack, handed her the small yellow thing, which he realised was another mouse, along with several poke balls.

This one was much smaller than Raichu, had red cheek spots instead of yellow, had thin ears with black tips, and had a jagged, lightning-shaped tail. Raichu seemed to take an interest in the yellow mouse, watching it closely.

As the nurse took them into another room for several minutes, He made his move, walking in quite briskly, with Raichu at his heels.

The two turned to face him. He made out their features clearly now. The boy had scruffy black hair, and small zigzag patterns under his dark-brown eyes. His companion was a lanky, redheaded girl with a yellow tank-top with red braces and blue denim short-shorts. She had her hair off to the left side of her head in a pony-tail.

Both parties stood in silence as they sized each other up. The boy noticed Raichu and whipped out a small device: another Pokedex, he recognized. It scanned Raichu and gave a brief description with its electronic voice.

"A Raichu, huh?" asked the boy, "Is it any good?"

"Well, it has utterly smashed two opponents in the short time I've had it, so I'd say yes," He replied.

Raichu beamed in pride with a nod.

"Are you here to challenge the Gym as well?" asked the redhead.

"...What?" he asked, confused. Gyms are places you train, last time he heard, not a place of any major competition.

"I'm Ash," the boy introduced himself, "and I plan to become a Pokémon Master, and the only way to do that is to beat all eight gyms in the region, and then you get to challenge the Champion".

"I see," he nodded, "Well have fun with that".

The nurse remerged from the room with Ash's Pokémon, placing them on the counter. She was followed by the weirdest creature He'd seen yet.

It was a big, egg-shaped blob of an animal, pink in colouration, with short, stubby arms and feet and an egg in a small pouch on its belly. It had small, black eyes and a big grin. It also had a nurse's cap on.

The yellow mouse hopped up on Ash's shoulder. "This is my buddy, Pikachu," he said, "and together we'll take on the Champion!"

"And your name is...?" He asked the redhead.

"I'm Misty, and I'm going to become the best Water-type trainer in the world!" she declared, "so are you challenging the Gym or what?"

"I don't plan to, no" He replied.

"By the way," asked Ash, "what's with the strange outfit? I've never seen anything like it".

"Well you see, I'm in the Military, and we need to wear this armour for protection," he explained, "So I don't get hurt".

"That's not something you see every day," said the nurse at the counter, "Last time I saw a getup like that was when you lot cleared out that big terrorist cell a few years back".

At least SOMEONE here has an inkling of what's going on, he thought in relief. "Yeah, that was us," he said.

"I don't understand," said Ash, "Do you know him?"

"Probably not HIM specifically, but I know of his kind," she replied, "I heard they're an elite branch of the Army that deal with terrorists and really nasty stuff that not even Officer Jenny can handle. The only reason you never see them is because they don't have a base on this planet".

"Have you been in wars and stuff? Did you shoot people?" Ash rapid-fired his questions enthusiastically, "Can I see your gun?"

"Settle down, Ash" said Misty, "Maybe he doesn't want to answer that! Have some respect!"

"Wait, you're from another planet?" Ash asked, confused, "What are the Pokémon there like?"

"Uh..." He didn't know what to say. There were no Pokémon on Reach, or anywhere else as far as he knew. If there were, the war with the Covenant CERTAINLY would not be so one-sided.

He shook his head, "I don't know of anything like these creatures on my world".

"Are you kidding?" exclaimed Ash, "A world without Pokémon... that's just impossible! How do you live without them?"

"Oh, you'd be surprised," he replied, "We've managed so far, so I'd say we're alright".

"By the way," asked Misty, what's your name?"

Before He could answer, the glass-screen doors shattered as 5 figures burst inside.

He remembered them as the wrecked couple with a talking cat. This time they had a large purple snake with them and... What the hell is that? He could only describe it as a floating gas-bag with a face.

That is one UGLY motherfucker, He thought.

"Alright twerps, this time we're for real!" declared the purple-haired guy.

"We're taking that Pikachu, and this time you can't stop us!" declared the redhead.

"Koffing, use Smokescreen!" ordered Purple-hair.

The floating gas-bag, apparently named Koffing, expelled a dark purple gas which filled the room, obscuring everyone's vision. He switched to the night vision, which gave away everyone's outlines. He saw the two unnamed people rush at Ash, who was shielding his eyes from the haze, and grab Pikachu.

He rushed for the doorway, getting there before they did. They didn't seem to be able to see well either, as they slammed straight into him. They fell back to the ground with a thud.

"What the..." mumbled Redhead.

As the haze cleared, they saw him standing over them with his arms folded, in a menacing pose.

His faceless, polarised gaze seemed to have an intimidating effect, as they slowly backed up with shocked looks on their faces. Pikachu slipped from their grasp and ran back to Ash.

"W-who are you?" asked Purple-hair nervously.

"I could ask you the same question," he said lowly, in his most intimidating voice possible.

After several seconds, they got to their feet, and a wave of determination came over them.

"We're Team Rocket, and you better get out of our way or else!"

"Whatta ya gonna do? Gas me to death? This helmet is airtight," he challenged.

"Ekans," yelled Redhead pointing at him, "Use Poison Sting!"

The snake, now known as Ekans, reared up, spitting dozens of small purple needles of energy at him.

He dodged to the left. "Raichu, use Thunder!"

"Pikachu," yelled Ash, "Use Thunderbolt!"

Both mice tensed as their combined electrical power slammed into Team Rocket. There was a powerful explosion that shattered all the windows, launching Team Rocket outside and off into the distance.

"What a bunch of wankers," He muttered as they disappeared in a twinkle.

"That's the third time they've tried that today!" said Misty, exasperated, "They just don't give up!"

"Sorry about the damage, ma'am," He said to the nurse.

"Don't worry about it, it's ALL covered by insurance," she said, "By the way, if you want, we can give your Pokémon a quick check-up and have them fighting-fit in just a few seconds. Don't worry, it's absolutely free".

...That made no sense at all, He thought confused. He decided to go with the flow, "Alright, I'll take your word on that".

He picked up Raichu and placed it on the counter. It was heavier than it looked. The Nurse placed it in a complex machine behind the counter, and a laser scanned over it several times, making a short, cheerful tune as it did.

The nurse gave Raichu back, saying "There you go, have a nice day!" with a slight bow.

Raichu stretched itself out with a yawn.

"Is there any possibility," he asked softly, "That you can do me a favour?"

"Sure, how can I help you?" she replied.

"Can you find me a way to get back in contact with my unit? We got separated during an insertion and I wound up here instead".

"I see," she said, "Well I'm sorry, but the UNSC almost never come to these parts of the Galaxy, so there's no promise that you'll be rescued".

"Oh, they'll come," he said, "There is an alien race that is on the warpath, and we are currently fighting a losing battle trying to contain them, so I need to get back out there as soon as possible".

"I'm sorry, but it might be months before they get here," she explained, "There's nothing I can do right now".

"Fair enough...Thank you anyway".

He turned and walked out, with Raichu close behind.

"So, now that you have a few months on your hand," called Ash after him, "I guess we'll see you at the Championships, right?"

"We'll see," he replied, not breaking his stride.

He glanced about. There was a path going out to the East.

As he walked along, a man stopped him, "Have you challenged the Gym yet? No? Then come with me!"

The man dragged him about a metre before he broke his grip.

"No thank you," He said.

As He continued walking, the man caught up with him, "I insist, you MUST challenge the Gym Leader, Brock! We don't get any good trainers around here other than Bug-Catchers, so come with me!"

He dragged him to the Gym.

"Here you go," said the man, "Fight Brock and THEN I'll let you pass".

As the man ran off, He stared at the building on front of him. It reminded him of a training facility he saw on Reach. Raichu's cheeks cackled with electricity in anticipation.

He took a deep breath, and walked in.

There was a long, rocky pathway leading to the Battle Arena, which was ornately set up to resemble a mountainous surrounding. He saw a young man conversing with a slightly older man. There were several people around the facility, training with their Pokémon or having conversations.

Suddenly, everyone stopped their activities and turned to see this oddly dressed and faceless person with his Raichu at the entrance. As he walked towards the battle arena, he could hear low whispers, and could feel their stares. All the attention was unnerving.

"Welcome to my Gym," said the young man. He had an Asian appearance, with brown, scruffy hair; a brown vest over his green shirt and brown cargo pants. "My name is Brock, and I presume you are here to challenge me?"

He nodded, "The guy at the edge of town was adamant that I couldn't leave without fighting you, so here I am".

"Very well, come with me!" said Brock.

...

The two combatanants faced each other at the opposite end of the field. A referee stood on the sideline in the middle. A commentator sat behind a desk in the stands. A crowd had gathered in the stands, making bets on who would win.

Now, let's see if my training Raichu will pay off, he thought.

"The match between Gym Leader Brock and the challenger will now commence," yelled the referee, "This is a two-on-two battle, and only the challenger can substitute".

He did a double-take. Raichu has to fight TWO of them? He hoped they could do it.

"Commence!" declared the referee.

"Alright," said Brock, pulling out a poke ball, "Geodude, I choose you!"

A small, rock-like creature emerged.

Flip, even the ROCKS come alive on this planet, he thought incredulously.

Raichu took a step onto the battlefield.

"So this first fight is between Geodude and Raichu!" said the commentator, "Although Geodude has the type-advantage, we'll see who will come out on top!"

What the heck, He thought, type advantage? What's that? He had to be careful now.

"Geodude, use Tackle!" yelled Brock.

Geodude started up into a run as white lines of kinetic energy formed off it.

How on earth is it doing that? He thought. It doesn't even have legs!

"Raichu, jump over it!" he ordered.

Raichu launched clear just in time as the living stone ran underneath.

"Now use Thunder!"

Raichu launched its attack, enveloping the stone in electricity.

When the attack subsided, He was stunned to see it simply brush it off.

"Geodude is a Rock/Ground type," explained Brock, "so electric attacks have no effect whatsoever. Now Geodude, use Tackle again!"

Geodude slammed into Raichu, who couldn't react in time, knocking it to the ground.

"Come on buddy," He said, "get up!"

Raichu hauled itself to its feet, making a defiant pose.

Time for a strategy change, He figured.

"Geodude, use Tackle once more!" ordered Brock.

"Raichu, brace yourself, because this time, you're going to catch it!" He said.

Raichu nodded and steeled itself up.

Geodude slammed into Raichu again, knocking it back. Raichu kept a firm grip on its arms, trying to ignore the pain.

Excellent, he thought. "Now pin its arms behind it, like I taught you!"

Raichu nodded.

Brock blinked in surprise as Raichu did exactly that, pinning Geodude to the ground with its foot in Geodude's back, which had its face in the dirt, while restraining its arms behind it.

Geodude struggled, screaming in pain, but Raichu held firm, slowly twisting its arms back further. There was a sickening grinding sound as Geodude's arms popped out of place. It screamed hysterically.

Raichu released the hold as everyone stared in shock at the now-disfigured Geodude.

"Well that's new," said the commentator.

"I'm impressed," said a stunned Brock as he recalled Geodude, making it quiet again, "No-one has ever used a strategy like THAT before. Controversial, it will be, but for now, I'll give you that win. Now for opponent number two! Onix, I choose you!"

He pulled out his second poke ball, and a monstrous worm of a creature emerged. It had dozens of segmented parts, all resembling boulders. Its head had a long horn sticking out of it.

He sized up this new opponent. This was going to be interesting, he thought, formulating an idea.

"Onix, use Bind! Let's see you beat THIS with your fancy tricks!"

Onix started curling itself around Raichu.

Time to improvise, He thought. "Raichu, jump and run up its back!"

Just as Onix closed in, Raichu launched itself up. It landed on the curl that would've been holding it, and it sprinted up Onix's spine.

"Onix, shake it off!" yelled Brock.

"Jump for its horn!" He ordered.

As Onix started thrashing about, Raichu made a leap for its head. It sailed past its target, before suddenly jerking to a stop in mid air, having managing to snag the horn with its tail.

The sudden jerk caused pain to race up its spine, causing it to cringe as it fell and slammed into Onix's rock-hard face.

Onix went cross-eyed as it watched the mouse dangling there, blinking itself back into focus.

"Raichu, use Focus Blast!" He yelled.

Before either Brock or Onix could react, a blue ball of energy formed in Raichu's paws, which it rammed into Onix's face at point-blank range.

An explosion reverberated around the building, causing the stands to slightly tremor.

Onix dropped to the ground, with Raichu still snagged with it. Onix's head hit the ground with a loud thud. Raichu was in momentary free-fall, until its tail acted like a bungy cord, albeit a rather short one. It slammed into Onix's unconscious face again and went limp.

Both trainers rushed over. He released Raichu's tail and picked it up. Brock recalled Onix back to its poke ball.

"So who won that?" He asked.

"Buddy, I think you deserve this win," Brock congratulated, "Your rather unorthodox strategy has proven to me your skills as a trainer, and you've gained my respect. Allow me to present you with this".

Brock pulled a small badge from his pocket. It had the Gym's logo on it. "It's an official League badge, representing your victory over me. Collect seven more from around the Kanto region, and you're on your way to the Championship!"

He accepted the item and placed it in a small pouch on his utility belt.

"I recommend you heal your Raichu at the Pokémon Centre before you leave town," said Brock.

"Will do," He nodded as he made for the door. The crowd applauded as he left.

He saw Ash enter as He left, making nods as they passed each other.

...

As he walked to the Pokémon Centre cradling Raichu's unconscious form in his arms, he smiled to himself. Being an ODST was starting to pay its dues.


	3. Invasion

CHAPTER 3

"There you go," said the nurse, "Your Pokémon is all rested up. Have a nice day". She made a bow as she handed Him Raichu.

"Thank you very much," he said as he turned and left.

As he walked to the town perimeter, he noticed that guy from before no longer pestered him.

He pulled the badge out and examined it closely. It had a basic design, being a grey-coloured octagon, with no detailing and a pin on the back.

What is so special about this thing? He wondered. Apart from gaining access to this so-called champion, it does absolutely nothing but look good.

He lowered it for Raichu to see, who seemed to marvel at the sight of it. After a second, he pinned it to the outside of the utility belt pouch.

The path ahead was long and rocky. He could already see several people training their Pokémon. Something told him this might take a while.

...

Forty-five minutes and two dozen curb-stomps later...

...

"Raichu, use Volt-Tackle!" He ordered.

The purple Nidoran, as he learned, was promptly collected up in a high-voltage glomp, knocking it unconscious.

The young trainer stared in a mixture of awe and fear at Raichu's speed and power, before recalling his downed Pokémon.

"Right," he challenged, "Whose next?"

Nobody stepped forward. To them, he had become a faceless, nameless, destructive monster that showed no mercy. To be fair, Raichu may have accidently placed some of the opponents in the Intensive Care Unit.

"That's what I thought. C'mon Raichu, let's go".

"Meanie," He heard someone mutter. He ignored them.

They dropped over a small ledge and made their way towards the next town. He saw a sign saying _Cerulean City_.

"Why is this their standard of how big a city is?" he wondered aloud, "There are only a dozen buildings here...again".

He decided to make a stop at the Pokémon Centre. They all had the same appearance and layout, he noticed, makes it easy and simple.

While he was waiting, He saw two young boys sitting as far away from him as possible.

Perhaps my new-found reputation precedes me, he thought, or maybe I just look scary.

"What's their deal?" He asked the nurse, "and why do you look so familiar..."

"I think they're scared of you," she replied pointing out the obvious, "We recently heard a story from a trainer returning from Route 3 about an armoured, faceless monster with an almost unbeatable Raichu. No prizes if I guess correctly that it's you, right? Our ICU has some really nasty cases in there..."

"That's it!" He said suddenly, clicking his fingers, "You're the nurse I saw in Pewter City!"

She stared at him with a confused expression, "I'm sorry? I don't know what you're talking about".

"Yeah," he insisted, "I never forget a face! At least not very often... but the nurse there looks EXACTLY the same as you!"

"Oh," she said in realisation, "You must've met my cousin!"

"Your cousin? She looked like your twin!" he said, confused.

"We come from a large family," she explained, "and we all look the same as each other...somehow. And we all have jobs as nurses in Pokémon Centres, so you'll see us quite frequently".

"That must be confusing at times," he said.

"You don't know the HALF of it..." she muttered, "and what makes it worse is that we all have the same NAME as well!"

She returned Raichu and he nodded in appreciation.

"That must REALLY suck," he said.

An entire family of people that ALL look alike? He thought, only on this crazy planet.

As he walked out, he accidently bumped into someone.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" said a voice.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

He glanced up and down. It was another tall, young trainer. He had long, reddish-brown hair that stuck out in every direction; a blue long-sleeve shirt with a red trim, navy-blue pants and an irritated scowl. He was followed close behind by a group of teenage girls with pom-poms and cheerleader outfits.

"You should be! Be more careful next time," the boy said gruffly as he shoved his way through.

What's HIS issue? He wondered.

As they walked on, he saw Raichu making an angry glare back at the Pokémon Centre.

"C'mon buddy, just ignore him. He's obviously just another stuck-up wanker that we're probably going to have to deal with later".

Raichu nodded and shifted its gaze to Him.

They made a tour of the town. This place is bigger than Pewter City, and there are a lot more people here as well. People everywhere stopped and stared at this faceless stranger wandering about. The attention made him nervous.

Gotta get out of this armour at some point, he thought, it grabs WAY too much attention for my liking.

...

They passed the afternoon, walking about looking at various clothes-stores. He realised he had no money on him, as they used a different currency here, and he lost all his other cash when the Frigate went down.

What to do...what to do...he thought.

Surely these people make money out of the Pokémon, perhaps by entering competitions...that's it! He'll enter Raichu in a competition! If the events are anything like those UFC matches he saw back on Reach, he could make some big bucks here.

He saw a placard advertising a tournament being held here in Cerulean City. How convenient, he thought. He walked up to get a closer view.

"Being held in two days..." he read, "yadda, yadda, yadda...winner will receive 20,000 dollars. There we go! Where do we sign up...at the Pokémon Centre. Alright shorty, we have work to do!"

...

The sun was starting to set as He wrapped up Raichu's training. The mouse once again proved to be a quick learner, perfecting several more complicated techniques. This thing's a genius compared to some of the idiots I trained with on Reach, he thought.

"Let's call it a day," he said, "and we'll find somewhere to stay the night".

They wandered back to the Pokémon Centre. There were already several other people scattered around with blankets and pillows. He noticed Ash and Pikachu standing by the counter with...Brock?

What was HE doing here?

Ash noticed Him as he walked up, "Hey it's the guy in the Army! Fancy seeing you here!"

He nodded in greeting, "How's it going?"

"Oh hey," said Brock, "I had a feeling you'd show up!"

"Hey losers," came an annoying voice.

He turned and saw the snobbish kid from earlier.

"Hey Gary," said Ash, "Have you entered in the Tournament yet? I heard there'll be a lot of people competing".

"Damn straight," said the kid, now known as Gary, "And it'll be no surprise when I kick all your asses and WIN that twenty grand!"

"Someone's pretty confident," He muttered.

"Hey, I'm the grandson of a Pokémon Professor! I think I know a thing or two more about battling than most of these third-rate trainers!" Gary declared proudly, "ESPECIALLY some newbie dumbass in a suit of armour!"

"Right, and being a rich guy means you get pretty much everything, right?" He retorted.

"Well, ALMOST everything, except defeat!" said Gary, "I haven't lost a single fight because of my strong team! Because of Grampa's research, I was able to put together an AWESOME team, and we'll take on the Elite Four and the Champion!"

"I see, so it's not WHAT you know, but WHO you know. Interesting..." He said to himself.

"So stranger," said Brock, "I never got your name. What is it?"

"Yeah," said Ash, "You never properly introduced yourself".

They gathered around, staring into his faceless gaze. Perhaps this face had a name to connect with.

All their expectant gazes put him on the spot. He didn't really want to go into details. Why can't a faceless guy go nameless as well...?

A low rumble suddenly started shaking the ground. Bright lights flashed outside and He could hear people start screaming.

His stomach felt like solid lead as He inched to the window for a view outside.

"What could THAT be?" asked Ash, concerned.

The doors opened, and if it wasn't for his helmet, his jaw would've slammed into the ground.

A large, purple warship blocked out the sky, and hundreds of small specks dropped from the clouds.

"Ohhhh SHIIIIIIIIT!" He yelled, "EVERY ONE! GET OUT OF HERE AND RUN!"

"What's going on?" asked Gary, "What are they?"

"That's a COVENANT warship," He started yelling hysterically, "And if you don't move, YOU"RE GONNA DIE!"

"What do you mean?" asked Ash, "Are they gonna kill us or something?"

"Nah Sherlock," He exclaimed, "They're just gonna show us their Pokémon. OF COURSE THEY'RE GONNA KILL US!"

"But...You're in the Army right? Can't YOU do something?"

"I could... IF THE REST OF THE ARMY WERE HERE!" he yelled.

"Now just settle down," said Brock, "What makes them so dangerous that YOU'RE scared of them?"

That's right, He realised, these people wouldn't know an Assault Carrier if they saw one. Damn these people, living under rocks!

"Since you've never seen these aliens before, you've never-OH shit! HERE THEY COME!"

A Phantom lowered to the ground and several burly-looking Brutes dropped out. The crowd around them stared in shock at the sight of these creatures. That suddenly turned to fear as the Brutes went on a rampage, randomly shooting the crowd with their Spikers.

More Phantoms dropped in troops, and these ones had a variety of species. Ones that HE recognised for once. Jackals, Grunts, a Hunter pair or two, and more Brutes. At least there were no Elites as far as he could see...

The Covenant went berserk, slaughtering the helpless population as they tried in vain to flee. Several Police Officers made a stand near the Department Store, firing their hand guns. He watched as they dropped several Grunts and Jackals, before being mercilessly cut down themselves by the overwhelming return fire.

"Arcanine!" He heard a familiar voice ring, "Use Flamethrower!"

From the side street, a blast of fire consumed a Brute, incinerating it to a cinder.

Of course! He remembered, his bravado coming back to him, the only ones who have a REAL chance here are the Trainers! This should be a good chance to test my theory.

The Police Officer from the forest and several trainers with their Pokémon stood around the perplexed Covenant Assault team.

All at once, they launched their attacks. Fire blasts, fierce jets of water and...A tornado made of leaves? As long as it works for them, he figured.

The Jackals made a defensive formation behind their shields, which buffered under the forces. The Brutes and Grunts had no such protection. While the Grunts fell, some of the Brutes weathered the storm and returned fire.

While the Pokémon were quick and athletic, the Trainers themselves were defenceless. The Pokémon were helpless as their trainers were quickly decimated. Lost and Leaderless, the Pokémon turned tail and fled for their lives. One particularly bulky, green creature with a massive tree growing out of its back was too slow and was promptly blown to a messy splatter of bits.

The people in the Pokémon Centre watched in utter horror at the carnage around them. Cerulean City crumbled under the raw firepower of the onslaught, as Wraiths and Ghosts started dropping in. The screaming echoed in their ears, the scene permanently etched into their memories. All around them, as wave after wave, dropped from the sky, the City burned brightly against the evening sky.

"We have to get out of here," He said, "Now".

"I don't want to die," whimpered a young trainer huddled in the corner.

"If we get out of here, that's not gonna happen!" He said.

Several Brutes burst through the windows. The people started screaming.

The Brutes caught their attention on the ODST standing in the centre of the room.

Now there's a uniform you wankers recognise, He thought.

"Everyone, run! I'll draw their fire! GO!" He beckoned. Everyone except Ash, Pikachu, Brock and Gary fled without hesitation. The Brutes ignored them.

"Ash, that means you too!" He hissed, drawing his M7, "Get out now, while you still can!"

"No," Ash said defiantly, "I'm NOT gonna simply let them destroy this place! Not without a fight!"

"Listen to me," He said hurriedly, "These creatures don't fight like you do. This is war! There's no rules, no holds barred! They'll kill you without waiting for you to make a move!"

"What about now?" Gary asked sceptically.

"Talking's a free action!" He said indignantly.

"...What?" asked a confused Ash.

"Never mind. Die, you bastards!" He said, opening fire, "Raichu, use Thunder, and whatever you do, do NOT hold back a SINGLE volt!"

"Pikachu," yelled Ash, "Likewise, use Thunderbolt!"

Raichu and Pikachu leapt from the counter and did exactly that.

The Brutes buckled in pain under the combined power of the mice as the overwhelming electricity cackled loudly.

They dropped to the floor with a thud as their hearts stopped.

"THAT'S what I'm talking about!" He exclaimed, high-fiving Raichu.

"Rai-rai!" it said.

They all fled out the back door as more Covenant poured in, attracted to the commotion like moths to a candle.

"Oh my goodness," whispered Ash as they ran, "Look at all the dead people! The heartless monsters!"

There were corpses and craters everywhere, and all the buildings were in ruins or ablaze. Covenant troops criss-crossed the streets, itching for something easy to kill.

The Twilight sky emphasized the dark setting as the red sky to the East started fading into the distance. In the sky, He saw Phantoms taking troops towards other towns and cities, feeling helpless as he could only watch their demise. Plasma fire and screams echoed for miles, ringing in his ears like a symphony of Death. He'd seen this situation all too many times, on Harvest and on Reach.

They kept running, ignoring their bodies' protests of exhaustion.

Why destroy THIS planet? He thought. There's nothing here of interest to them, other than something else to kill.

He noticed Ash, Gary and Brock leaning over, gasping for breath.

"I don't think I've ever run that hard in my life," exclaimed Gary.

"I haven't seen you run at all," muttered Ash, "You're always with that fancy sports car!"

"Hey, that is a NICE car!" retorted Gary, "YOU wouldn't waste such a magnificent thing to sit about and do nothing!"

Plasma fire interrupted the conversation. Everyone ran about, trying not to get hit.

The trees along the path were pummelled and blown to shreds from near-misses.

"Any ideas, Mr Army Guy?" asked Gary.

"Yes," He replied, "Shut up and RUN!"

The Covenant seemed to make a slow sweep as the local flora attacked them. The valiant, but hopeless creatures were cut to ribbons by the Covenant firepower. Soon, the locals were joining Ash and co. in the sprint for their very lives.

He saw more Police making a barrier ahead. The Police stopped what they were doing and grabbed any weapon handy.

As they jumped the barrier, the Police opened fire on the Covenant. The first few waves went down, but the Covenant pressed their assault relentlessly.

"We're leaving!" He beckoned.

"But what about them?" asked Ash, "They need help!"

As if on cue, several officers were struck down by Spiker fire.

He grabbed Ash by the hand, "I'm TELLING you, we're leaving!"

As they ran off, a Phantom appeared overhead, cannon blazing. All that was left of the barricade were some craters and smouldering corpses.

...

"I think we lost them, for now," he said as they sat around in a large tree-hollow.

"You seem to know a bit about these monsters," said Brock, "What are they?"

"Alright," he said getting comfortable, "The Covenant is a collection of species that all follow the same deity, a mysterious race called the Forerunners, so I've been told. The Covenant leaders apparently considered the Human Race to be an affrontment to their gods, so they waged a terrible war to try and wipe us out. They almost succeeded, where it not for the courageous efforts of a hero called the Master Chief. He single-handedly exposed the secrets regarding our true connection with the Forerunners and the Covenant fell apart shortly after. That's what I heard".

"So if the war's over," said Gary, "Why are they still attacking us?"

"I heard that these guys are a remnant of survivors that still want to kill us all, so they've been making attacks on various worlds trying to finish what they started," He replied.

"How exactly did we not hear ANYTHING about ANY of this?" asked Ash.

"I...don't know to be honest," he answered.

"What about all our friends?" asked Brock, "They all helpless against this devastation. All the Nurse Joys and Officer Jennies...blown to bits..."

"I'm sorry," said Ash sarcastically, "But they were NOT your friends".

"BULLSHIT!" Brock roared uncharacteristically, "They ALL liked me! They just didn't show it...What about YOU? Misty's probably lying in a torrent of blood by now..."

"I didn't like Misty like how YOU looked at them!" Ash said defensively, "She was just hanging about until I get around to paying off her bike!"

"Sure, sure," said Gary, "Just keep telling yourself that. Everyone can tell you two have something special there".

"I haven't even KNOWN her for that long!" Ash yelled.

"I don't understand," He said, confused.

"What about you?" asked Gary, "Does even the faceless wonder himself contain a certain woman in mind?"

"Now that you mention it..." He trailed off.

"Well! Even this faceless and nameless freak can get chicks!" declared Gary, "You suck, Brock!"

"What?" asked a stunned Brock, "Well, spit it out! Who is this person?"

Everyone trained their eyes on him.

He fidgeted nervously as he mumbled something incoherently.

"What was that?" asked Ash, "Speak up!"

"I..." he started as his voice trailed off.

"What?" asked Gary, straining to hear.

"I have a fiancé waiting for me, back on Earth," He finally said. The polarised visor hid his beetroot-red face.

"There we go!" exclaimed Gary, "What was hard about that? So, who's the betrothed of the anonymous one?"

He slowly pulled a piece of paper from a compartment on his utility belt.

It was a photo of a pretty young woman, maybe in her mid-twenties. She had thick, shoulder-length, brown hair; slightly tanned complexion and large, brown eyes. This was contrasted by her outfit, a typical Marine Battle Dress, holding her helmet in her left arm at her side, and she was wielding a large Assault Rifle in her right.

"Damn," whistled Brock, "You sure can pick 'em".

"Figures really," said Gary, "Army guys get Army gals".

"What's her name?" asked Ash.

"Her name is Sam, and we met each other during boot camp. We fought together during the Harvest and Reach campaigns, and then I proposed to her shortly before I was transferred to the ODSTs".

"Well congratulations!" said Gary.

"What are 'ODSTs'?" asked Ash.

"We're an elite, Special Forces unit that are deployed to a battlefield in small, one-man drop pods, hence our name, Orbital Drop Shock Troopers," He explained.

"Well, now you have yourself a goal!" said Brock.

"What's that?" He asked.

"You just HAVE to survive this, so you can get home and marry that girl!"

"Well...that's easier said than done. Escaping an otherwise inescapable planet is harder than it looks," He said, "Take it from me".

"Buddy, I will tell you this:" declared Ash, "We will get you out of here, one way or another!"

"Pika-pika!" exclaimed Pikachu.

...

Their sleep through the night was nervous and uncomfortable. Phantom engines were constantly humming overhead, and the distant thunder of explosions could be heard in the distance. He wondered how he was going to pull through this. There were no Spartans to rely on here to pull through, just himself. Ash, Brock and Gary were no soldiers, and even if he could give them a crash-course or two, the chances of survival were slim. He pondered such issues as he drifted off to sleep.


	4. On the Run

CHAPTER 4

Ugh, note to self, He thought, never try to sleep in a hollowed out tree stump ever again, especially not in one with Ash right next to you. That kid snores like a megaphone with a static problem, and the sleeping position hurt his back. It was a miracle the Covenant patrols didn't pick up any of that ruckus. We should be DEAD by now because of him...

He peered about the outside world. The sunrise was tainted by columns of smoke and clouds of dust and death. The forest seemed to have a sense of danger about it, a sense that made Him uneasy. Phantom engines hummed far off in the distance.

He stood up and stretched himself out. Gary and Brock were already up and about, setting up a campfire. There was a bird's carcass roasting nicely on a spit.

His eyes widened in horror, "No, you idiots! Put that out! They're gonna see that for miles around!"

Brock and Gary stared at him with puzzled expressions, "See what?"

"All the SMOKE it's creating, you dills! That'll reel the Covenant in like moths to a candle!" He exclaimed, "You're gonna get us all killed!"

"But our meal isn't done yet..." protested Brock.

"Ugh," he said, holding his head in his hand, "Just...finish it up as quickly as possible and then we move on. We need to get as far away from here as possible. Are there any good places we can make up like some sort of hide-out or something?"

They all thought hard for a moment.

"What about Johto? Would they go there?" asked Gary, "I know a few people there who can help us out..."

"Where is it?" He asked.

"Just across the border to the West-"

"That's too close," He said, shaking his head, "The Covenant will get there long before we will. They are quick, efficient and deadly. We need to go further than that. What's the farthest accessible place on this planet from here?"

"Why can't we stay here?" asked Brock, "We can roam the forests and lose them there if they chase us down".

"Oh, because we'll be DEAD by nightfall if we stay here!" He yelled, getting frustrated, "Don't you get it yet? You saw what happened back in Cerulean City. They wiped out EVERYONE there in the space of twenty minutes! The only reason we're alive is because other people died getting in their way to slow them down!"

Gary and Brock stared at him, taken back by His outburst.

"I'm sorry," He said, "but this planet is now at war with a very dangerous and powerful enemy. The best chance we have now is by utilizing the power of the Pokémon and hope for the best. Speaking of which, where did Raichu go? Have you seen him anywhere?"

Brock shook his head, "Nope, I last saw him with you last night".

"Same here," said Gary.

Where could he be...?

...

Somewhere else in the forest...

A powerful explosion rips apart the fallen log.

Raichu barely got out of the way of that in time. The funny bird-like creatures formed a circle behind their big, round, indestructible blue things. They all held a weird little gadget in their hands, which packed more power than they appeared to.

Raichu felt itself back up against a tall tree. The bird-creatures cackled evilly and the weapons started charging again. A small green sphere appeared at the tips.

Where's the tall robot guy when you need him? What would he do in a situation like this?

It jumped up just as they attacked. The spheres seemed to follow it upwards. The shots missed by a fraction, exploding against the tree. The shockwave launched Raichu over their heads and behind them.

They all turned around just as it launched a Thunder in all directions. The funny creatures convulsed as their shields acted like conductors, overloading them instantly as 100,000 volts of raw power passed through the metal in their gauntlets and fried their innards. It didn't let up the attack for at least ten seconds, just to be sure.

When the ordeal finally ended, the weirdos were all crumpled up on the ground, most likely never getting up again.

Raichu nodded with a triumphant smile and turned to walk away.

It walked straight into a big hairy monster of an alien. The monster stood menacingly over it, with heavy, raspy breathing. The monster held a gadget in its right hand which vaguely resembled a weapon like an Officer Jenny would have.

It gulped as it sized up this new opponent, its bravado quickly slipping away. The monster made a venomous grin.

Almost instantly, two exploded into motion. The Brute brought its weapon down to slice the mouse with the blades on its Spiker. Raichu dodged deftly to the right, charging a Focus Blast in its paws.

The Brute swiped with its free arm in a backhand. The blow caught Raichu directly on, sending it flying into a tree at break-neck speed with a resounding thud. The Focus Blast sphere fell the ground and exploded. The Brute shielded its eyes from the dust kicked up.

Raichu clenched its teeth, cringing in pain as it tried to pull itself together. It felt extremely dizzy, and there was not a single spot in its body that didn't feel like it was on fire. Sure, throughout the life of a Pokémon, it will get hurt, sometimes more badly than usual, but this reset the bar, utterly smashing its threshold.

Its vision momentarily went blurry as the monster strolled forward with a deep bellow of a laugh. It struggled to get up and regain its senses while trying to ignore its body's violent protests. The creature had clearly won, what did it want now?

The monster raised the weapon towards its head. Time seemed to stand still as the weapon slowly levelled at its face. The seconds seemed as slow as hours.

Everything was going hazy now, fading in and out, as it started to slip unconscious.

The Brute seemed to be laughing and shaking like a maniac as a green glow suddenly erupted from its chest.

Wait, that's not laughter. It's screaming its head off, but why?

It ignored the agony in its neck to look around past the monster. It blinked several times to stay focused, but all it could make out was a tall, white and green humanoid figure with a green head and bright red eyes with its arm in the monster's back, and nearby stood what looked like an equally tall human. Then everything went black.

...

What ARE these creatures? The boy thought to himself. They have the nerve to try to invade our planet and kill our friends and family. These bastards deserve to die, every single one of them.

He walked over to Raichu's limp form, placing his ear to the mouse's back. His eyes widened when he heard faint breathing. This one is a fighter. Very few others could survive a blow like that.

The boy rummaged through his backpack and pulled out a small purple bottle with a spray-nozzle top. He lightly sprayed the Raichu from head to tail, and hoped for the best.

He sighed in relief when he heard its breathing returned to normal.

...

"Come on people, keep up!" He beckoned as they sprinted through the foliage, "It shouldn't be too far now".

He had heard the explosions and the distinct cackle of electricity and instantly realized that Raichu was in trouble. Now they were running in the general direction of the commotion. He silently begged that the mouse could fight without him.

They barged into the clearing without a second thought.

He quickly scanned the area and spotted a boy leaning over Raichu with a tall humanoid creature next to him, another Pokémon He assumed. The boy had a red hoodie jumper; black tracksuits with red seams; a grey hat with some sort of sports logo; white runners with blue markings and black-rimmed glasses.

The Pokémon with him was about the same height as its trainer. It had bold, rounded white hips that went into thick legs with flat bottoms for feet. Its torso was white with a dark-green V-shape down the centre with red, triangular horns on its chest and back. It had thin dark-green arms which became slightly thicker at the lower arms. Its head was mostly taken up by a dark-green thing that came down the centre of its face in a V-shape. There was a cyan band running up the centre of it which came into a crest on top of its head. Its appearance reminded him of a warrior that he learned about which lived on Earth many centuries ago. What was it called again...?

The boy was startled by their sudden appearance and quickly stood up, "Who are you?"

"Who I am is none of your concern," He said, "The Raichu is with us and we came to see if he's okay".

"Well, Raichu's fine now. See?"

Raichu stood up and ran over next to Him.

Ash, Gary and Brock stared at the boy's Pokémon like star-struck fans.

"What sort of Pokémon is that?" asked Ash, "I've never seen that before".

"This is my buddy Gallade, and I got him in a trade from a guy in Sinnoh," the boy explained, "and we're gonna become the champions! Well, at least we WERE, until all these monsters invaded and killed everyone". The boy gestured towards the Covenant corpses, "So now we roam around trying to not get killed".

"Join the club," said Gary, "We have jackets".

"Right, now let's get out of here," said Brock, "Our meal might get cold".

...

Everyone sat on logs eating their meal around the campfire, which had been put out. He was leaning against a nearby tree, keeping watch for any Covenant.

The new kid had quite an appetite, wolfing down his portion like a crazed piranha.

"So," he said through mouthfuls of Roast Pidgey, "Where are we going next?"

"Well, Saffron City's just south of here," said Ash, "We could see what's going on there, and maybe find any survivors".

Yes, that is an option, He thought, but is it a good one? The Covenant might still be lurking around preparing to move on and blow up some other town, for all they knew.

"Hey army guy," said Gary, "You mentioned something about this being a 'remnant' of their fleet, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Well, I've been thinking, what if this is it? They've thrown ALL their cards down, haven't they?" Gary asked.

"Pretty much, why's that?"

"Then that's it! These are all the guys they have! On paper, WE have the advantage!"

Everyone stared at him.

"I don't follow," said Ash, "And since when did YOU ever think about anything?"

"I'm saying, if we attack them, they won't be able to get reinforcements because there ARE none! This task suddenly becomes much easier!" Gary said excitedly.

He's right! He realized. This is only a small group compared to what they usually send in. It all makes sense now. They're relying on speed and surprise to win this, not their raw power.

"Alright, I know what we have to do now," He said, "We go looking for surviving trainers, round them up, and we fight. That's all you do on this world anyway, so what's a change in opponent gonna make much difference?"

"Well considering this is a fight for our very lives and planet," said Brock, "I'd say...a lot".

"How would we fight them?" asked the new kid, "The big guys are really tough to bring down".

"Well," He replied, "From what I've seen, Fire- and Electrically-based attacks seem to work best. I saw some people attack with water and leaf assaults which didn't do jackshit. So, we need to have priority for fire and electricity".

"What about all the other types?" asked Ash.

"What do you mean?"

"You know, like Psychics, Dragons, Poison, Ghosts...?"

"...What the Hell are they?" He asked, perplexed.

Everyone facefaulted.

"Ugh, do you know ANYTHING about Pokémon?" asked Gary.

"Well, apart from the fact that they're real smart, zap people, burn them and stuff like that, no not really," He replied.

"Okay," said Brock, "Pokémon are divided into 17 different categories based on their genetic make-up and elemental abilities: Normal, Water, Fire, Grass, Electric, Ghost, Psychic, Dark, Poison, Rock, Ground, Steel, Ice, Dragon, Fighting, Flying and Bug. For example, your Raichu is classified as an Electric type because of his primary ability to wield electrical-based attacks like Thunder".

"What about Focus Blast? That's not electrical at all, and he uses that without breaking a sweat," He asked.

"That's different," explained Brock, "Usually Pokémon can also learn certain moves not of the same type as them".

"Some Pokémon are two types at once," said the new kid, "for example Gallade, which is Psychic/Fighting".

"So THAT'S what he is," exclaimed Gary, "I was trying to figure that out myself, but ah well. Grampa hadn't started his Sinnoh Pokedex yet, hence why I've never seen or heard of it".

"Okay, so now that that's settled (sort of), let's get cracking!" He said, "Ash, you mentioned something about a city not far south from here".

"Right!" said Ash getting up, "Come on everyone, let's go!"

"Pika-pika!" exclaimed Pikachu.

They all got up and started walking.

"By the way," He asked the new kid, "What's your name?"

"I'm Anthony," he said enthusiastically, "and I'm from Blackthorn City, Johto".

"Blackthorn City?" exclaimed Gary, "Isn't that where all the Dragon Trainers come from? Are you one too?"

"Well, that's for me to know and you to find out!" he replied.

This adventure is going to be quite interesting... He thought to himself.

...

Somewhere in space...

"Sir, we are arriving in the zone of the distress beacon. It is coming from the far side of X-295".

"Very good, Lieutenant," replied a deep voice, "Tell Sierras -468 and -666 to get ready and assemble their squads. They're going planetside in two hours".

"Yes sir".

The Lieutenant walked off briskly.

Heh, by tomorrow evening, those poor Covvie bastards down there are going to wish they were never here...


	5. Saffron Excursion

**Ugh, this chapter took longer than I anticipated to complete. **

**I have the beginning and ending of the story planned out, just not the big, gaping hole in the middle, so if the filler's a bit crappy, just remember I'm making this up as I go.**

CHAPTER 5

Saffron City was once a bustling city, full of vibrant colours as people and Pokémon went about their lives. Its signature landmark was once the illustrious Silph co. building, standing tall and proud in the city centre as a testament to the company's wealth and prosperity. The train station was always running on time, and people enjoyed a good ride over to Johto and back. The Pokémon Gym, home to the local Gym Leader Sabrina, was once an attraction for trainers, tourists and bookies alike.

Not anymore.

Many buildings had been reduced to rubble, and the ones that weren't had heavy smoke still lingering. The atmosphere was now a monotone of all the shades of brown, black and red you can conceive and there was the lingering stench of death that tainted the very air. The Silph building had been cut down to size from repeated assaults by Covenant troops desperate for blood. Their barbarity was evident in their blatant lack of burying whatever they killed.

Large worms swarmed the countless corpses littering the street, regardless of whether they were human, Pokémon, or the odd Covenant.

They could not help but feel sick at the scene of devastation before them.

One particular worm quickly caught his eye and stood out to Him, sheltering in a crater near the ruins of the train station. Where all the grubs around it were yellow and stereotypically grub-like in appearance, voraciously chewing up the dead like maggots, this one was unlike all others.

Its head was covered in white fur, and the rest of the short body was brown. It had six, stumpy black legs and a thin band exposing its face and bright blue eyes. What distinguished it were the five red horns flaring off its head, like a child would draw on a picture of the sun. Rather than chomping on something, it seemed very defensive of a particular body, protecting it from the other grubs like a loyal guard dog.

The sea of worms parted as they walked through, being careful not to tread on a body.

Everything was silent, save for the wind whistling ominously in that trademark way that it usually does.

They made their way to the Pokémon Centre. The automatic doors whirred, but failed to open.

"That's odd," said Gary, "The doors to a Pokémon Centre are ALWAYS open, regardless of the situation..."

"Well, considering if they DID open the doors, they'd DIE, I'm not surprised," He said.

He noticed Anthony slowly walking towards the unique worm in a hunched profile, which seemed to growl at the boy as he approached.

"Well fancy that," Anthony whispered, "I'd never expect to see one of YOU guys all the way out here".

"Why? What's that?" asked Ash.

"This little guy is a Larvesta," explained Anthony, "and his kind is normally from a region very far from here called Unova. So as to exactly how he ended up here is quite puzzling indeed".

"Unova, eh?" Gary mused, "Where have I heard that name before? Maybe another one of Grampa's associates, maybe..."

Anthony reached out to stroke Larvesta.

"Bad idea," Brock warned, "That one looks like it bites. And I think its bite will be WAY worse than its bark".

Anthony backed off when flames started spurting from its horns and it made an agitated scowl.

"Okay then, this is unusual," he mused, "Larvesta are normally quite docile, but this one is aggressive".

"Thank you for your brilliant observation, Captain Obvious," Gary said sarcastically.

"I wonder who the trainer was," said Brock, "almost EVERY trainer gets their first badge from me, and I never saw anything or anyone like this. Bug types usually evolve quite quickly, and thus I usually get Beedrills and Butterfrees to contend with, but this unlike ANYTHING in Kanto".

"That's because Larvesta is from Unova," repeated Anthony, "so therefore, we can assume the trainer isn't, or more likely WASN'T from Kanto or Johto at all".

"Unless it was somehow acquired in a trade," suggested Ash.

"Possibly".

Raichu and Pikachu cautiously approached Larvesta, which focused its attention on them, making low growls and venting flames from its horns again. Raichu was the bolder of the two, looking over the body with the curiosity of a puppy.

"Whatcha found there, shorty?" He wondered as he walked over.

Larvesta was close to breaking point, evident by it shaking nervously and about to blow apart at any second.

"Don't worry," He said softly, "I'm not gonna hurt you, just having' a peek at what's so special about the dead guy, that's all..."

He rummaged through the corpse's pockets and pulled out a poke ball.

Larvesta growled louder this time.

He glanced from Larvesta to the poke ball, and noticed its stare.

"Oh, this is yours?" He asked gently.

Larvesta made a nodding gesture.

He shook his head, feeling empathy when he fully realized this creature's plight, "I'm so sorry".

There was a moment's silence. The wind seemed to howl like a banshee, sending a shiver reverberating up and down everyone's spine.

He felt along the ridge of the segmented sections on the poke ball and felt a small button. When he pressed it, the device suddenly jerked as a red beam emerged from the circle at the front.

The red beam instantly homed in on Larvesta and within moments it was gone, stashed inside the ball.

He noticed the ball was slightly heavier now that it had the worm inside. He placed the ball in a pouch on his belt.

"So you're just gonna steal that guy's Pokémon?" asked Ash, disgusted.

"...Yep. It's not like he can complain anyway. Larvesta needs someone to look after it, it's only young and it won't survive long without care in a strange and foreign land. If it isn't a native species here, then it NEEDS our help," He replied, "Now, let's see if we can get this door open".

He stared at the building for a few seconds and pulled a small device from his belt, a small blue ball.

"What's that?" asked Ash.

"Our way in," He replied, flicking a switch. The small orb started glowing. He placed it at the foot of the door.

"Now what?" asked Gary.

"Run," He said simply.

"What? Why?" asked Ash.

"Because in about...oh three seconds, it's gonna blow up and kill us all if we don't move".

That got them going.

There was a loud explosion that shattered the glass.

There was a loud click, and suddenly gunshots erupted from within the building. They jumped about frantically to avoid being hit.

"Whoa, whoa! We're friendly!" He said loudly, "We're human!"

The guns stopped, and a figure emerged from the haze.

It was a Police Officer with her handgun drawn.

"I assume you have a good reason for scarin' the shit outta us like that," she growled vehemently.

"Uh, I'd say 'we didn't know you were there', but I doubt that'd go down well," He said, "Just lower the weapon and let us in".

"OFFICER JENNY!" exclaimed Brock, leaping to glomp her...

"Down boy," said Gary, holding Brock back by the neck of his shirt collar, "She bites".

That was another trend on this planet, He realized, ALL the cops are female, they ALL look the same and they ALL have the same name. I think the people of this planet have a rather sick fetish for girls in uniform...

"Oi, ODST," she called, "Where have you guys been all this time?"

"Uh, they haven't arrived yet, I ended up here by accident," He said sheepishly.

"...By accident?" she asked sceptically.

"Yeah, I was supposed to be on that other planet that mysteriously shares the same orbit as this one, which in hindsight doesn't make sense, but that's beside the point, and I ended up here instead" He said.

"And look at all the fucks I give," she said sarcastically, "Well, since you're here, we could use some extra hands. Come on in".

She beckoned them inside.

There were several people huddled in the corner next to the counter with their Pokémon, shivering in sheer terror. Some had varying degrees of burns and injuries. Nurse Joy was busy tending to a young trainer's injuries, and all the electronics were dead.

Three more Police Officers sat around the foyer, watching the newcomers closely and keeping their side arms handy.

"So this is the situation," said the Officer, "The Aliens are spreading out faster than we can contain them, causing MASSIVE casualties and collateral damage wherever they go. This isn't an invasion, it's a massacre. We're doing everything we can to stop them, but they're simply too powerful. What we hope to do is start a guerrilla campaign, and drive them off the planet with hit and run tactics".

"Been there, done that, it doesn't work," He said nonchalantly, "What you NEED is to nuke them and hope for the best, because without Spartans, you're not going to have a serious impact on them".

"And just where are you going to get a couple of those?" she asked, "We don't HAVE nukes here, nor would the Spartans bother trekking all the way out here to save our sorry arses, so we have to fend for ourselves or die trying".

"Well...is there some sort of power plant around here somewhere? We could lure the Covenant there and detonate the plant, blowing them all to Hell," He suggested.

"No, absolutely not!" she said, "There's only one between Kanto and Johto, and destroying that would leave EVERYONE without power for months, even YEARS".

"But they're not getting power anyway at the moment," said Gary.

"That's beside the point," said Officer Jenny indignantly.

"Okay then..." He trailed off, thinking hard.

Pikachu's ears twitched and it jumped off its usual perch on Ash's shoulder, running to the door.

"What is it buddy?" asked Ash.

"Pika-pika," it replied, pointing outside.

Raichu walked up next to it, listening carefully and watching the surroundings.

Suddenly there was a high whistle and a flash of pink, and a Police Officer gasped in pain and surprise at the twelve inch spike lodged firmly in her shoulder, pinning her to the wall.

Everyone raced into action, ducking for cover as more shots poured into the Pokémon Centre.

"Action stations people!" yelled Officer Jenny, "Everyone get to cover! ODST, where the Hell are you going?"

He ignored her and beckoned Raichu along, sprinting outside.

"Okay buddy," he said, taking shelter behind a wall, "Time for a crash-course in Jackal-hunting. Do whatever I do, whatever I say, and step where I step, okay?"

Raichu nodded, with a serious expression on its face.

There was a pause in the assault.

"They're reloading, so we have exactly five seconds to get to the next building. Let's go!"

He sprinted as fast as his legs would carry him, slamming into the wall and ducking behind it, just as the barrage resumed.

He checked to make sure Raichu was still with him, and waited for the sniper fire to die down.

"Alright," He said, pulling a small mirror from his pocket and sliding it into a groove on his M7.

He held the mirror in the open, carefully watching where the shots where coming from, and thinking up his next move.

A flash erupted from a window in the Silph Co. building.

"Gotcha," He muttered, sliding the mirror back in his pocket.

"Alright buddy," He said, "Here's what we're gonna do..." He lowered his voice to a series of whispers.

Raichu nodded.

He dashed towards the building and using his momentum he kicked the door in with a crash.

Raichu front-flipped inside and unleashed a powerful Thunder that reached out to every corner in the foyer. Several Grunts and a Brute were caught loitering about, enveloped in the electricity which coursed right through them and killed them.

He ran in behind and scanned the room with the sights on the M7.

"All clear," He said, "To the elevator".

On their way, they passed a sickening sight.

Bodies of people and Pokémon were scattered across the floor in a bloody mess.

To him, it was an all-too-common scene, but to Raichu, who was still new to this level of violence, it made it horribly nauseous.

He pressed the button, but nothing happened.

"Stupid-"

He holstered the SMG and placed a plasma grenade on the door.

"Get down!" He yelled, picking up Raichu and pulling it in close before dropping to the floor.

A powerful explosion ripped the doors apart like tin foil.

He almost walked in when he noticed that the lift was a mess.

There was fluro-blue blood splattered everywhere, and pieces of freshly burnt and shredded flesh mixed in here and there.

He realized that some Grunts must've been inside the elevator, and he just blew them all to Hell without even knowing it.

Raichu suddenly keeled over and violently threw up.

"Ugh, I know. It's not a pretty sight," He said empathically, "That's why we're going to do this".

He pulled his last plasma grenade out and slapped it to the roof of the elevator.

He ducked out and waited.

An explosion ripped up what was left of the lift.

"Alright," He said as he ducked down. He picked up Raichu and placed it on his shoulders like a small child.

He then grabbed the thick metal cable that once suspended the lift and started hauling himself up the shaft, placing one hand above the other at a time.

It was a hard slog upwards. Shortly afterwards, he was beginning to think this probably wasn't a good idea.

He had climbed six floors up when his arms were starting to hurt like hell, and Raichu had wrapped itself around his head trying to hold on, obscuring his vision.

"Buddy, you're going to have to find something else to hold," He said, "Here, hold on to the cable".

Raichu held on for dear life as it suddenly found itself hanging in midair, as He kicked off the wall, and using his momentum, kicked through the doors to the 6th floor.

He managed to get a foothold on the edge, and pushed open the doors completely.

He quickly scanned the area for Covenant, before pulling Raichu in and placing it on the floor.

"Now," He muttered as he unholstered his SMG, "Let's pop that mofo three floors above us".

...

Officer Jenny quickly scanned outside, and saw that the attack had ceased.

"I guess that guy deserves some credit," breathed Gary, "He probably just saved us from a horrible death".

"Well," said Brock dejectedly, "Most of us anyway".

He gestured to the Officer still pinned to the wall by the pink spike. Her moans of agony echoed throughout the room, as another officer tried to calm her down, and a third tried to dislodge the spike as gently as possible, but to no avail.

The officer stood back scratching her head and sighed, "Sorry Esther, but there's no other way to do this".

With that, she simply ripped the spike out with all her might, triggering a small torrent of blood to burst forth from a ruptured artery.

Officer Esther Jenny let out a loud, piercing scream, emphasizing her excruciating pain.

Everyone held their hands over their ears, not wanting to go deaf.

The officer held the bloody spike in the air triumphantly, "Look on the bright side: at least you're still alive!"

Esther could only cry and sob as her shoulder throbbed violently, as blood quickly stained her uniform.

Several others quickly grabbed clumps of tissues and cotton, dipped them in antiseptic from a first-aid kit and held them tightly against her wounds.

The stinging sensations only caused her to scream and cry louder.

"She needs a hospital, right now!" said Brock.

"And where do you think we're gonna find a working one of those?" asked Officer Jenny, "Cause if you can pull one out of a hat right now, that'd be greatly appreciated. By many, _many_ people".

Ash was busy staring outside, unable to bear the sight of the messy scene behind him.

He gently stroked Pikachu as he watched the Silph Co. building in the distance, listening to the soft echo of gunfire, and watching flashes erupt from the higher-floor windows.

"The Army guy probably has everything under control from where he is right now..." He trailed off.

...

"This doesn't look good," He said as he ducked behind a tipped-over table for cover.

Raichu sat next to him, nodding wide-eyed in agreement.

There was a whole Covenant squad up here, composed of several Jackals, a dozen Grunts and two Brutes, all of which were pouring fire into His position.

Every now and then, he'd point his SMG over the top for a quick burst at a Grunt, or to roll a frag at their feet.

"Alright, what I want you to do," He said to Raichu, "is this. We have to be quick. I need you to learn to be able to fight without my guidance and instruction. This is what I've been training you for from the start, okay? All those techniques, all those targets were all to prepare you for something like this".

Raichu gulped and nodded.

"The first thing about fighting these creatures is speed. They're fast, but I know you're faster, so Quick Attack your way about. Don't bother moving normally, or you'll get hit and killed".

Raichu shuddered nervously.

"I know it's scary, I've been through it all before. But if you stay on your toes and stay focused, you'll come out on top," He said gently, "Now, we'll start with the big guys and work our way down. The little guys are just as scared of you as you are of them, so if we kill their leaders first, they'll all panic and make critical errors left, right and centre, such as running away".

Raichu nodded, somewhat comforted by that.

"Once we take out the big guys it'll become much easier-"

He paused to shoot a Grunt that emerged around the corner.

"-to kill the rest of them," He finished.

He quickly scanned the room and picked out his next target.

"Okay, there's a Brute over near the window. I'm gonna shoot up the window, and I want you to hit him with a Focus Blast with enough power to knock him backwards".

Raichu nodded.

"On three... two... one... now".

He peered over and poured a dozen rounds into the window.

The Brute laughed at the human's pitiful inaccuracy, until Raichu jumped and launched a blue sphere across the room at it, striking its chest. The Brute stumbled back in surprise, leaning on the weakened window as it did, which gave way under its weight. The Brute fell down 9 stories and splattered everywhere like a tomato.

The other Covenant soldiers looked nervously out the window, and back at towards the little orange mouse.

"See? We have 'em worried now, keep it up!" He said encouragingly.

The second Brute went into a raging fury at the loss of its comrade, and started charging.

"Thunder it!" he said frantically.

Raichu jumped on the counter and unleashed a powerful burst of electricity, which coursed through the beast and brought it to its knees.

"Finish him with Focus Blast, I have you covered!" He yelled, reloading his gun and opening fire on a Jackal.

The Brute struggled to get up, but it was too late as another blue ball of energy slammed into it, jerking its head back violently and snapping its neck. Then it slumped over, dead.

The other Covenant started backing away nervously from the mouse.

"That's it!" He said ecstatically, "We have 'em where we want 'em! Mop 'em all up with Quick Attack!"

Raichu slightly twisted back, then launched forward at lightning speed, leaving a white contrail behind it as it bounced off all the Covenant soldiers like a pinball, putting them all in a daze.

"Now finish 'em with one last Thunder!" He said.

Raichu nodded and tensed as it unleashed a powerful burst that struck everyone in front of it, killing them all in a single go.

As the dust cleared, He stood up and applauded with a chuckle, "Nicely done shorty, nicely done!"

Raichu looked about at the fresh corpses around it, and started feeling ill again.

He walked over, holstering his SMG, "Yeah, I know how you feel buddy, let's just get back to the others and plan our next moves, okay?"

Raichu nodded full-heartedly in agreement.

...

As He walked out the door of the Silph Co. building, He heard a faint humming noise in the distance, and looked about to find the source of the noise.

As the sound got closer and louder, He recognised it as the ominous drone of Banshee engines.

He silently beckoned Raichu back into the building, and waited.

Then he heard the sound of plasma fire.

He looked out and saw a flash of white and red whizz past, followed by not one, but two Banshees with cannon blazing, thundering through the valley of streets and buildings, or what was left of them.

He only got a glimpse of them as they all flew past and disappeared in amongst the buildings.

The red flash changed direction, pulling up and banking right, before flashing back across His field of view.

He wasted no time in whipping out his binoculars and trying to track it as it went about.

Whatever it was, it was fast and agile, and he simply couldn't keep up with its erratic flight pattern, ducking and weaving about in a frantic effort to not get hit.

Gotta get rid of those Banshees, He thought quickly, let's see how much spark Raichu has left to bring 'em down...

"Raichu," He said pointing at the Banshee in front, "Use Thunder on those aircraft!"

Raichu was initially hesitant, but tensed and launched a burst anyway.

The attack missed its intended mark, but instead struck the Banshee behind it. The aircraft shuddered about, and a small internal explosion sealed its fate. The doomed aircraft spewed a trail of thick blue smoke, lost control and slammed into a building, exploding in a spectacular fireball.

The other Banshee broke away from its firing run and turned around.

When it was coming back up their street, He said to Raichu, "Hit it with Thunder!"

Raichu complied, and this time did not miss.

The stricken fighter plunged into the ground and blew up.

The red and white thing came back and circled around several times, allowing Him to get a better view of it.

It was a Pokémon of some sort, He realised, when he made out its large, golden yellow eyes, which were trained squarely on him.

For a moment, the two were almost in a trance-like state as the Pokémon circled above, neither party breaking eye contact.

Suddenly a soft voice entered his head.

"_Thank you for saving me,_" was all it said, in a feminine tone.

Then the red creature broke contact and flew away.

He blinked a few times, and started walking back to the Pokémon Centre.

He noticed Ash watching Him from the doorway.

As he walked across the road, Raichu tapped his leg, grabbing his attention.

It pointed up the street into the distance.

"What is it, shorty? I don't see- oh wait, have a look at that!"

There was a figure a long way away, dragging itself along in their direction.

Even from this far away, He could tell the person was in trouble.

He started walking towards it.

Suddenly the figure collapsed.

His pulse accelerated as he sprinted over.

When he got closer, He recognized her as one of Ash's friends. What was her name again...?

She was covered in various injuries, one of which bled quite profusely from her leg, and she seemed to be in overall poor shape.

He held his hand to her neck, checking for a pulse, then picked her up and ran as quickly as his legs would carry him.

Ash's pupils dilated when he saw them coming.

A mix of relief, joy and concern washed over him as he yelled, "Misty!"

...


	6. Rescue Mission

**Alas, the school year has begun... progress has slowed to a crawl...**

**Just to clarify something, the ODST in this story is an OC, not THE Rookie we all know and love from Halo 3. **

CHAPTER 6

_Somewhere on Mt Silver..._

A Covenant cohort, consisting of numerous Uggnoy, Kig-Yar, and their four Jiralhanae leaders, slowly trudged through the mountain range as a fierce blizzard assaulted them mercilessly.

"Why d-didn't they f-fit heaters t-to our harnesses?" shivered an Uggnoy, "We're gonna f-freeze to death b-before we f-find the human h-hideout!"

"If you die, then that's too bad," barked a Jiralhanae, "Less talk, more walk!"

For the next few minutes, they all pushed on in silence in the freezing cold.

An Uggnoy suddenly passed out and collapsed.

"Weakling," a Jiralhanae muttered. The rest of the unit looked about uneasily and continued moving.

A Kig-Yar piped up, "Look! There's a cave not far over there," it pointed towards a hollow in the mountain side, "We could wait out the storm there".

The Jiralhanae in charge glanced from the cave to its shivering subordinates, "Fine, but we move on as soon as the storm dies down!"

They all dragged themselves into the cave and settled down.

"Let's scout the area and dispose of any hostiles accordingly," ordered the Jiralhanae.

They all spread out and slowly advanced deeper into the cave, charging their Plasma pistols and using the glow for light.

The Uggnoy looked around nervously as portions of dust fell from the roof.

A big boulder jutted out from the side of the cave, and several Uggnoy sat down against it for a short break.

Making sure the Jiralhanae were out of earshot, they started talking amongst themselves.

"What a hellhole, this is!" muttered one.

"We're gonna be icicles by the time we're done here!" said another.

"Seriously, when we get back, we should request heaters for these harnesses, or at least get a winter version into production..."

"I think my mask has frozen to my face..."

"So c-c-c-cold..."

"...Larvitar".

They all jumped at the last comment, and turned to see a short, green creature sitting next to them. It had a horn on the top of its head, a radar-dish shaped tail, a small red diagonal section on its belly, and black markings around its eyes and waist. It wasn't much shorter than them.

There was a moment of complete silence as they all stared at each other.

The green creature blinked a few times, and tilted its head slightly to the left.

The Uggnoy mirrored its movements, taken in by this strange thing.

"...What is it?" asked an Uggnoy.

"I've never seen it before. Maybe it's friendly?" said another.

"Larvitar," it said softly.

"Let's take it and keep it!" said one gleefully, "Isn't it cute?"

The Uggnoy reached out to pet it.

Larvitar scowled and clamped its jaws around its hand, its sharp teeth drawing blood.

The Uggnoy screamed in pain, drawing everyone else's attention.

All the other Uggnoy backed away, wide-eyed in surprise.

"What in the Prophet's name have you idiots done now?" roared a Jiralhanae lumbering over.

It ripped Larvitar off the Uggnoy's arm and drop-kicked it across the cave.

"Laaaaarvitar...!" it yelled before landing in the distance with a loud thud.

"Dumbass Uggnoy..." it muttered angrily, walking further into the cave.

A low growl reverberated around the cave.

They all jerked to attention, looking around nervously.

The Jiralhanae slowed its advance, making cautious movements, watching for threats.

"We're not alone in here, are we?" asked a Kig-Yar nervously.

"Shhh!" hissed the Jiralhanae.

There was complete silence. No one moved a muscle.

"Well," it said loudly, turning around to face the rest of the unit, "There's nothing else in here! We were just hearing things! Nothing to be worried about AT ALL!"

The faces of all the other Covenant suddenly drooped to horrified expressions.

"What? What are you looking at?"

A Kig-Yar gulped and pointed half-heartedly at it.

"There's something behind me, isn't there?" it asked sarcastically.

Everyone nodded.

It turned around and came face to face with another green creature, only this one was MUCH bigger than the other one. It vaguely resembled the smaller one, or rather the small one resembled it, with three horns on its head; spikes on its back and shoulders; a blue diagonal section on its abdomen; black markings on its chest and bold, round legs and a long, thick tail with small spikes at the end. The big green thing was slightly taller than the Jiralhanae, and from its expression, quite agitated.

"What are you looking at, ugly?" the Jiralhanae challenged.

The Tyranitar didn't respond.

"Well?" The Jiralhanae suddenly placed its Spiker at the creature's head, "Answer me!"

Tyranitar didn't flinch. Its eyes darted from the Jiralhanae to the weapon and back.

Suddenly it made a swift, swiping motion and the Spiker clattered uselessly to the ground a dozen metres away.

The Jiralhanae growled and punched the creature hard across the jaw.

Tyranitar's head jerked under the force, but other than that, it seemed unfazed, expression unchanged.

Jagged stones suddenly rose from the ground beneath it, surrounded by a black aura, and formed a ring in front of Tyranitar. The Covenant shuffled back a step in surprise. In a single, casual swiping motion, it flung them all at the Jiralhanae.

The Jiralhanae had no time to respond as every rock hit its mark. Its personal shield was gone in a bright flash, and the rocks cut and slashed whatever wasn't covered by armour.

The Jiralhanae reeled back a few more steps.

The other Covenant watched on as the Jiralhanae roared in fury and rammed its fist into the blue section of Tyranitar's gut.

The Jiralhanae winced as it felt its knuckles shatter against its rock-hard armour.

If Tyranitar even felt that, it certainly didn't show it.

Tyranitar grinned coldly, and stomped its foot down hard. A large shockwave suddenly shook the cave, and before anyone could react, the entire section of roof above them suddenly collapsed, burying them all alive in several tonnes of rock and dirt.

Larvitar stared anxiously for several seconds.

Tyranitar suddenly clambered out from the rubble, and casually brushed itself off like nothing happened.

A large arm burst from the rubble, and then the rest of the Jiralhanae leader appeared. Dirty, battered and exhausted, but nevertheless, it was still willing to fight. The Jiralhanae adopted a hunched posture, its breathing heavy and thick with anger.

Tyranitar crossed it arms in amusement as the Jiralhanae staggered uneasily across, reaching back to slug it across its smug face again...

Tyranitar barely dodged the blow and quickly conjured another stone barrage, launching them into the Jiralhanae's gut at point-blank range.

The Brute screamed in agony as rocks burst out its back.

It doubled over and collapsed to the floor in a pool of blood, breathing its last.

Tyranitar stared at the Jiralhanae for several seconds, before beckoning Larvitar to follow, and they walked off into the darkness.

...

_In the Saffron City Pokémon Centre..._

Everything was a blur as she struggled to focus. A small crowd of faces hovered over her, silhouetted by a bright light and obscuring her view of her surroundings.

Above the drone of concerned voices, she heard someone constantly calling her name in a panicked tone.

She fought to stay awake, but her body was violently protesting, and her willpower faltered.

Everything goes black.

...

"Well the good news is," said Nurse Joy, "She'll live. Her injuries are superficial for the most part, except that gash on her leg will require stitches, which we are inconveniently in short supply of".

Ash, Gary and Brock sighed in relief.

"The bad news is, don't expect her to wake up anytime soon. She's exhausted and slightly dehydrated, so she'll need attention for that when she comes round".

"When might she wake up?" asked Ash.

"Oh," Nurse Joy mused for several seconds, "maybe at least five or six hours".

Ash took out a blanket from his backpack and draped it over Misty's sleeping form, which was lying down across a bench near the wall.

"You get a good rest," He muttered softly.

The ODST sat on the counter, adjusting a small dial on the right side of his helmet. Raichu hopped up and sat beside him, watching him with curiosity.

"Whatcha doin'?" asked Gary, walking over.

"...Scanning the radio broadband for any signs of UNSC activity," He replied, "If I can pick up any conversation, I can get a message through of our predicament and get help".

Gary watched in silence as He continued to adjust the dial.

One station caught his attention.

Instead of the usual static-y rasp, there was a continuous high-pitched beep, like a TV had screwed up.

"I wonder what that is..."He mused aloud.

He shook his head and turned the radio off. Try again later at a different location.

Officer Jenny walked up to him, "ODST, we need your assistance".

"What's up?" He asked, hopping off the bench.

"Before we leave this city, I need you to perform a recon mission. There is a Pokémon Gym in the North-East corner of the city. If there was ever another place survivors would seek refuge, it'd be there. The Gym Leader there, Sabrina, is a very capable fighter, and if we can secure her assistance, it'd be handy to have her on board," the officer explained, "The problem is, none of the Police Officers like me are trained to undertake such a task, and since you are, can you please do it?"

He sighed softly, and nodded. "Just point me in the right direction, and you'll have your Gym Leader in one piece".

"It isn't that hard to find," said Officer Jenny, "It's easy to pick out. Here..." she handed Him a small map, "If you get too lost".

He nodded and placed the map in a pouch on His belt.

"Alright shorty," He beckoned Raichu, "Break's over".

They walked to the Centre's entrance and looked around, then walked off.

"Where's he going?" asked Anthony.

"To get help," said the officer.

...

The city had a fairly simple layout, and he ran east along the street with Raichu close behind. Along the way, he spotted a house with a sign out front saying: _Mr Psychic's House_. _Don't call me Uncle Psychic! _

He shook his head, _I wonder if that bloke predicted THIS predicament_.

They came to a bend that turned sharply left. Far off in the distance, He saw the outline of a building that must've been the Gym. Standing outside were several dozen Covenant soldiers, trying to break in.

He made a gesture with his hand, beckoning Raichu to stick close to the buildings.

They came to a cross-road, and He scanned up the adjacent street. He spotted several Ghosts parked near the Silph Co. building.

After making sure it was all clear, they sprinted across to the next building.

He peered round the corner and saw a pair of Hunters at the end of the road, conversing with each other in a strange language.

"Dammit," He muttered.

Up ahead, a Brute charged at the Gym door and slammed into it, but the door held firm.

He thought furiously about how to pull this off.

Raichu's cheeks cackled in anticipation.

He stared at his orange companion for several seconds, then crouched down, "Alright buddy, let's teach you how to bring down a Hunter..."

...

The Hunters turned in surprise when an orange flashed whizzed right through them. It bounced up and off the wall of the Silph Co. building, launching back over their heads.

As it sailed past, Raichu tensed and launched a Thunder that tore right through the one on the left. The Hunter's armour acted as a conductor, and the big creature was knocked back, visibly stunned as electricity continued to criss-cross it for several seconds. The second Hunter charged up its fuel-rod cannon, and a green energy sphere formed at the nozzle.

Just before it could fire though, Raichu twisted in mid-air and launched a Focus Blast at it. The blue sphere rammed into the green one in a blinding flash.

There was a powerful explosion as the fuel-rod cannon blew up, disintegrating it and the Hunter's right arm, leaving a bloody, dripping stump. All this occurred in the space of five seconds, and both Hunters screamed in agony at roughly the same time. Raichu had been launched back up the street by the shockwaves, and landed with a commando-roll near towards the ODST.

He took his cue, running straight towards the two disoriented beasts. He jumped and rammed a grenade down the first Hunter's neck, and landed as it exploded. The Hunter slumped to the ground dead, and a pool of fluro-orange blood quickly collected up around it.

The second Hunter staggered around uneasily for a few seconds, growling furiously as it did. It raised its shield arm to strike, but was stopped when Raichu launched a second Thunder, which surged right through it, knocking it out of commission.

"Alright!" He exclaimed ecstatically, "THAT'S how you take down a Hunter, people! And you don't even need a shotgun!"

"Rai-rai!" Raichu said with a proud smile.

All the commotion attracted the attention of the other Covenant soldiers, and they started running over and firing their weapons, forcing the two to dash behind the Hunter corpses for cover.

He peered about and sized up his opponents. There were several Grunts and Jackals as usual, as well as four Brutes.

A green blast near his head caught his attention, and looked about to see a swarm of Buggers darting about menacingly above them.

"Raichu, you know what to do!" He yelled.

Raichu nodded and launched a Thunder skywards. The flying insects with guns were too quick however, and dodged it with relative ease.

Raichu attacked again and again, but simply couldn't hit any of them.

The Buggers made their move and launched a barrage of plasma fire in their direction, causing them to dance about madly to not get hit. Meanwhile, the other Covenant slowly approached, locking them in an unavoidable vice-grip.

He started shooting the Buggers with his SMG, and had more success, killing several of them in quick succession before needing to reload.

He noticed the other Covenant about to walk on top of them, and quickly ordered Raichu to switch to the easier targets.

Raichu nodded and broke into a Volt Tackle, ploughing right through them like a hot knife through butter and emerging on the other side, leaving several dead and injured in its wake.

He continued firing at the Buggers and was about to finish off the last one when a stray Spiker shot struck his weapon, rendering it useless and startling him.

He huffed and threw the gun like a boomerang, striking the Bugger in the head and killing it instantly.

Raichu made quick work of the Grunts and Jackals, barrelling through them in another Volt-Tackle, before slamming into a Brute, destroying its shield. The hard knock stunned Raichu momentarily, and the Brute didn't come off any better. Raichu had struck the Jiralhanae's equivalent to the solar plexus, and the electrical affect kicked in, stunning it more.

He swiped a Plasma pistol from the ground and finished the Brute with a shot to the back of the head. The other Brutes started shooting at Raichu, but it recovered quickly and dashed off with Quick-Attack.

With their attention taken, He snuck up on a Brute, whipped out his knife and jumped on top of it, stabbing and hacking at its head and neck. The Brute stumbled about in pain and surprise, but He didn't budge and rammed the knife in its eye. It bucked about and he fell off just as he withdrew the knife. As the Brute turned around, He shot it in the face with the Plasma Pistol, killing it. He then picked up the Spiker it dropped.

The last two Brutes went all out, and charged towards them like deranged bulls.

Raichu launched a Focus Blast at them, striking one directly in the head, killing it instantly, but the other didn't stop, and swiped at Raichu in a powerful backhand, sending flying clean through a building with a loud crash.

The Brute then turned to strike the ODST when a pink aura surrounded its arm. The Brute didn't realise it was there and tried to attack, but its arm didn't budge. It grunted in anger and continued to try and break free in vain. As it struggled, He watched in stunned silence and a fallen Spiker floated into the air behind the Brute, surrounded by the same pink aura.

The Brute finally noticed, and its expression was priceless as the Spiker was thrusted into its head, killing it.

The pink aura dissipated and the Brute dropped to the ground with a loud thud. The Spiker clattered down next to it.

He looked around, confused for several seconds, before running over to the gaping hole in the building. His eye twitched when he saw that Raichu had been blasted right through the building, and was lying in a heap against the back wall of Mr Psychic's house.

He ran over to his fallen friend and grew worried when it didn't move.

He rolled it over and checked for vital signs. There was faint breathing, and he sighed in relief.

He picked Raichu up and walked over to the Gym. He stood at the entrance for several seconds before the doors slid open. Standing in the entrance was a tall, slim raven-haired woman. She beckoned Him inside and closed the doors behind him with a switch on the wall.

"Thank you very much for your assistance," she said, "Those beasts were threatening to kill us all, and might have succeeded if you didn't intervene".

"No problem," He casually brushed off, "It's part of the job requirement".

"I'm sorry?"

"It's a long story and I'll explain later. Right now, Raichu needs help".

"Indeed". She clicked her fingers, "Alakazam!"

There was a flash of light, and a creature appeared. It had a vaguely human-like stature, and it had a large moustache of sorts.

A pink aura surrounded Raichu, and it floated over to Sabrina. She pulled a small spray bottle from her pocket and gently sprayed the contents over Raichu's limp form. It was then carried back over to Him, and was dropped in His arms.

Raichu slowly opened its eyes, looked at him for a moment, and then fell asleep.

He turned his attention to the woman, "Are you-"

"Yes," She said abruptly, "I am Sabrina, and before you say it, I will join you in your quest to drive these creatures from our planet. As much as I hate fighting and war, I will do what must be done".

He stared blankly at her.

"As a psychic, I have telepathic powers, and knew what you were going to say before you said it," She explained.

"Of course, telepathy. Silly me!" He exclaimed, "And here I was expecting something that _made sense_!"

She looked at him in puzzlement, "...What?"

"Never mind. Let's get outta here".

...

As they walked back past the fight scene, he made one last glance when something caught his eye.

Hovering in the middle of the battlefield amongst the corpses was the white and red Pokémon He'd saved from Banshees earlier.

They stared at each other, and the creature's golden eyes seemed to pierce right into his very soul. Even though his visor prevented proper eye-contact, it was like the visor wasn't even there.

Suddenly the creature's eyes took a pink glow, and a small rock hovered into the air. With a blink, it smashed into a fallen Grunt's head.

He put two and two together, "You were the one that killed the Brute before! With the floating gun and stuff...!"

_While I was still in the region_, the feminine voice entered his head, _I figured I'd repay you for what you did for me_. _You are a good person. Again...thank you._

Sabrina noticed He wasn't following her, and trailed his gaze to the Pokémon, and her eyes dilated.

"That's...Latias!" She exclaimed.

Latias glanced at her briefly and returned to staring at Him.

_I have been watching you closely, and I wish to assist you in your fight against evil_, the voice said, _However, first you must prove it to me if you really are worthy of my help_.

"What?" He asked, confused.

"What'd she say?" asked Sabrina.

"Something about wanting to help me, and then needing me to 'prove myself worthy' or something. I get that it wants in on the fight against the Covenant, but what does the rest mean?" He asked.

Sabrina blinked. "She's challenging you to a battle. You have to catch her first before she will join you".

"'She'?"

"Yes, it is a 'She'," confirmed Sabrina. "Here," she said, handing him a Poke ball, "Use this to catch her when the time is right".

He looked at the ball in his hand. It was black on top with yellow stripes.

"That's an interesting design," He mused.

"It's an Ultra Ball," said Sabrina, "It has a much higher success rate than a normal Poke ball".

"Fair enough," He took a step forward. "Well Latias, I accept your challenge! Raichu!"

His orange companion perked to attention.

"Let's do this!" He declared.

Raichu nodded and jumped forward, its cheeks cackling with power.

The fight to capture Latias was about to begin...

...


	7. How to Catch a Legend, ODST Style

**CHAPTER 7**

The two combatanants stared at each other, waiting for the other to make a move. He knew nothing about Latias or what she was capable of, so He knew He had to tread lightly. He made a glance at Raichu, noting its condition. Its breathing was quite heavy, and He noticed small grazes all over its body from the various battles beforehand.

"You up to the task at hand, buddy?" He asked worriedly.

Raichu turned slightly and made a confidant nod.

Then let's do this, He thought, formulating a plan. "Alright, here's what I want you to do," He whispered, crouching down low, "From what I've seen, she's fast and agile, so be prepared to do a lot of running. I have no idea of her offensive or defensive capabilities, so for now we can't do anything rash. Start off with a series of Quick Attacks, and alternate your angle of attack as you do. Don't hit the same spot twice".

Raichu nodded and sprinted off towards Latias. Latias made no attempt to get out of the way, and Raichu slammed into her left shoulder, before running off. Latias turned about and launched a spiral of swirling blue energy from her mouth at the speedy rodent.

"That's Dragon Pulse..." muttered Sabrina, watching carefully from the sidelines.

Raichu entered another Quick Attack and swerved out of the way of the attack at the last second. The Dragon Pulse struck a nearby building in a powerful explosion, and the wall collapsed with a low rumble.

He gulped in nervousness.

Raichu made its second pass, coming from behind and striking her right flank, before dashing off again. Latias turned around and launched another Dragon Pulse at it. The attacked barely missed Raichu's head, and singed the fur on its back. Undaunted, Raichu made a third pass, but this time Latias shifted slightly to the left, and Raichu shot past her face, missing her completely.

Her eyes glowed pink, and Raichu was suddenly stopped dead in its tracks by a pink aura.

_Oh no you don't!_ He thought, and instinctively kicked a rock off the ground. The projectile struck Latias' neck, and she visibly flinched, causing her to lose concentration and release Raichu from the Psychic hold.

"Use Focus Blast!" He yelled.

As Raichu turned and launched its attack, Latias' eyes glowed green, and the blue sphere exploded harmlessly against a green, protective barrier surrounding her.

"_More_ things with shields?" He moaned, "Bloody Hell...so it's gonna be like that then".

"Those are not 'shields' per say," explained Sabrina, "It's a move called Protect, rendering the user completely invulnerable for a brief period of time. The drawback is that the user is also rendered immobile, and cannot attack".

Sure enough, the green barrier around Latias dissipated.

Like an Armour Lock function, He noted mentally.

Both Pokémon bolted into action simultaneously. Latias attacked with Dragon Pulse and Raichu with Thunder. The two attacks collided with an explosion in the centre, kicking dust and debris everywhere.

Raichu burst through the cloud charging a Focus Blast, launching it at close range at Latias' head.

Latias barely moved to the side, and the blue sphere scraped along her side before hitting the Silph Co. building. She then countered with Dragon Pulse, but Raichu turned on a dime and barely avoided the attack.

He watched carefully as the two Pokémon battled it out. He noted Latias' speed and agility, and that Dragon Pulse will be dangerous if she lands a successful hit. Her telekinetic abilities will also pose serious problems if left unchecked.

Neither Pokémon was able to land any serious damage so far. Both Pokémon were matched more or less evenly speed-wise, and since the training in Viridian Forest, He noticed Raichu had slightly sharper reaction times than since the first battle against Arcanine, and was able to avoid whatever Latias threw at it; however its fatigue was slowly starting to catch up with it. Latias on the other hand, was lightning-quick as well, making slight, simple movements to get out of harm's way, and as far as He was aware, was in top form.

He broke from his train of thought when Raichu suddenly commando-rolled to His feet. The mouse was panting heavily, so He quickly formulated a new game plan. _Need to end this quickly_, He thought.

He squatted down and whispered something in the mouse's ear. Raichu nodded and sprinted once more towards Latias.

Latias launched another Dragon Pulse at the mouse head-on. Raichu jumped at the very last possible second, and the attack struck the ground. The resulting explosion launched Raichu forward at a very high speed. Raichu then turned it into a Volt Tackle, screaming in straight for Latias' head.

Latias' eyes almost instantly took a green hue, but it was still a tad late. There was a brilliant flash of bright green light just as Raichu slammed into her.

...

Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy were the first to react as several figures stumbled into to the Pokémon Centre. They were all Pokémon Trainers from the looks of them.

"Sweet Arceus! What happened to you lot?" exclaimed an officer.

"We were trapped in the Saffron Gym for several hours of Hell," one of the figures exclaimed hysterically, "It was like Darkrai himself had us dialled in!"

"And those monsters were his henchmen!" chimed another.

"Just calm down and take a seat," said Nurse Joy soothingly, gesturing for them to take seats.

As the disoriented Trainers made their way across, one of them started rambling, "They attacked us without warning, and we were barely able to fight them off long enough to get to the Gym. If it weren't for Sabrina, we wouldn't be still standing here!"

"And then they came back!" yelled another, "They would've broken in if they had a bit more time!"

"Then suddenly they up and left! Just like that!" chimed a third.

"I think I have a good idea as to why," Officer Jenny mused.

"And then-and then a big army dude turned up and was all like, 'Come with me bro' and so we did, and we followed him but along the way he and Sabrina suddenly disappeared and now we're here and they're not!"

Officer Jenny frowned at this. Where did that idiot go now?

"Well, there isn't much we can do right now, too many people are carrying injuries. We need to rest up here before we try to go anywhere," she said, "So go make yourselves comfortable. Ash, Gary and Anthony, come with me!"

The requested persons got up and followed her outside.

...

He couldn't believe the sight before Him.

Latias' Protect barrier had formed just as Raichu was barely an inch from striking her face, trapping it in place. Raichu struggled to break free, but the barrier held firm. Latias grinned in amusement as the mouse dangled helplessly in front of her.

"Slug her across that smug face!" He yelled.

Raichu growled lowly and did exactly that, punching her across the head repeatedly.

Latias responded by increasing her pressure on the shield with her psychic powers, and the barrier started to slowly crush Raichu's mid-section, causing it to wince in pain.

"Focus Blast!" He yelled.

Raichu started forming an orb in its paws; however Latias tightened the shield further, causing it to gasp and drop the orb, which rolled to the bottom of the spherical shield.

He gritted his teeth in frustration.

Latias tilted her head the left and smiled sweetly.

_Problem? _asked the telepathic voice.

He chose to ignore her trolling and decided to go with the last resort.

"Use Thunder, and hit her with everything you've got!" He yelled.

Raichu grimaced and nodded.

The green sphere suddenly lit up like a light, and one couldn't be able to see inside.

An almighty crack of lightning resounded from inside, which lasted for five seconds.

A smaller explosion was triggered, and the shield collapsed. Smoke poured out in every direction.

Raichu dropped to the ground like a stone, landing with a soft thud, its cheeks cackling briefly then fizzling out.

"Incredible..." mused Sabrina.

The smokescreen slowly dissipated, revealing a charred-looking Latias, with a dazed expression on her face.

"_...Not...bad..."_ croaked the voice in His head.

A jolt of electricity cackled up the length of her spine, causing her to grunt in pain, and she too flopped to the ground in a heap. After several seconds though, she struggled back into the air.

His heart skipped a beat in dread when Raichu remained motionless.

"I think...Raichu is out cold," Sabrina said softly, emerging from her hiding spot.

He raced to his friend's side and checked for a pulse.

It was faint, but it was there.

"_That was an exciting battle_," said Latias, "_but unfortunately you lose. Maybe another time, perhaps?_"

"Hang on, don't jump the gun just yet," He said determinedly, "I still have another Pokémon left!"

"You do?" asked Sabrina.

"Yes I do," He said, pulling out a Poke Ball, and pressing the button. There was a flash of red light, and Larvesta appeared.

It looked around vacantly, then at Him.

"Well then," said Sabrina, "Our work here isn't done then. I will see what I can do to revive Raichu".

He nodded in appreciation.

She picked up Raichu with her telekinetic abilities and levitated it over to the destroyed building.

"May I quickly borrow your Pokedex?" He asked Sabrina.

"...Sorry, but I don't have one on me at the moment".

_Oh shit_, He realized_, I don't know any of Larvesta's moves_.

"Your small friend knows Bug Bite, Flame Charge, Flamethrower and String Shot," said Sabrina flippantly.

"...What?"

"I've seen that particular Pokémon before, when its original trainer challenged me to a battle. I have a rough idea of how it ended up in your hands. The original trainer was killed, wasn't he?"

He remained silent.

"And now you've taken Larvesta into your care? Well then, let's see how it responds to you".

Sabrina walked back to the destroyed building and gently placed Raichu on the ground, then walked north towards the Gym.

He refocused on Latias, and then made a glimpse at the Ultra Ball in His hand.

He crouched down to Larvesta's level, "Listen buddy, I know you don't know me at all, but I need you to cooperate with me, and we can bring Latias down and catch her. Ok?"

Larvesta stared blankly at Him.

"...Alright then. I take that as a 'yes' then?"

The little Bug/Fire type remained motionless.

"Not all there, is it?" He mused aloud, standing up straight, "I hope it understands basic commands then, if that's the case".

Larvesta turned around and crawled out onto the battlefield.

"_Then let our battle recommence!_" said Latias.

She attacked first with Dragon Pulse.

Before He could respond, Larvesta launched fire from the horns on the lower side of its head, the force lifting it into the air like a jetpack. The Dragon Pulse sailed underneath and Larvesta dropped back to the ground.

"Not bad," He muttered, impressed, "Let's see what else you can do, Larvesta. use Flame Charge!"

Larvesta's body suddenly became draped in fire as it charged towards Latias. Latias simply levitated up higher and out of reach. Larvesta came to a stop directly beneath her, staring at her with an angry glare. Latias blew a raspberry at it.

"Flamethrower!" He yelled.

Larvesta launched a column of fire straight up from a horn on its head. Latias moved to the side, dodging with ease.

Another jolt of electricity suddenly cackled up her spine, causing her to grunt in pain, and she fell to the ground right next to Larvesta.

He blinked in surprise, and then grinned, "Use Bug Bite!"

Larvesta immediately clambered on top of Latias and proceeded to bite her right wing in several places. Latias grimaced with a high-pitched gasp.

His eyes dilated in horror when a large blue bolt of plasma suddenly dropped from the sky, making an ominous whistling sound, and heading straight for the two combatanants.

"Latias! Use Protect NOW!" He yelled.

Latias' eyes glowed green and He held his breath.

The blue bolt slammed into them with a large explosion, kicking dust and blue smoke everywhere.

The dust cleared, revealing Latias and Larvesta cringing under a green barrier.

_What in the world was that?_ Latias asked timidly.

"A sign that we've been here too long," He replied hurriedly, "We need to get out of here, now. Our position has been zeroed in by a Wraith and now we need to go!"

He recalled Larvesta and sprinted over to Raichu, who was still out cold.

There was another whistle and another plasma shot hurtled towards Latias. She struggled to get up and move out of the way.

Although the shot missed anyway, He ran back over to her, grabbed her around the neck and started dragging her towards the building. Larvesta had done a real number on her wing, and it looked like she wasn't flying again anytime soon.

To make matters worse, He then heard the scream of small jet engines, and several Brutes with jetpacks dropped from the sky, opening fire on their position.

"Dammit," He muttered angrily. He tapped Latias on the head with the Ultra Ball, which sucked her in, and placed the ball behind a broken section of wall. He didn't think twice when He simply ran forward and took a defiant stance in front of the Brutes, yelling "Come at me bro!"

The Brutes did exactly that, charging straight for Him.

He whipped out his Spiker and quickly dispatched the first Brute's shields, then rammed the Spiker into its head, killing it.

He picked up the Brute's Plasma Rifle and swerved to avoid an angry fist. He backstepped several paces, pouring plasma fire into the second Brute, and finishing it with a shot to the head.

A large arm suddenly wrapped around his head and picked him up. The Brute roared and threw Him into the wall with a crash, causing him to drop the Plasma Rifle.

"Ugh...that's gonna smart in the morning," He groaned.

The Brute thrusted its hand around his neck and started squeezing, almost crushing His trachea.

Several gunshots rang out, and a Brute nearby stumbled back in surprise.

He heard Ash's voice yell, "Charmander, use Flamethrower!"

The Brute holding Him suddenly screamed as intense flames licked its back, causing it to release its grip and drop him. He kicked it viciously in the groin, causing it to double over. He whipped out his knife and rammed it in the Brute's face, killing it.

He glanced over towards Ash, who was standing with Pikachu on his shoulder next to a small red lizard with a cream coloured belly, big blue eyes and its tail was on fire.

Standing with them was Officer Jenny, an Arcanine, Gary, Anthony and Anthony's Gallade.

"Spread out and knock 'em down!" said Officer Jenny. They ran in different directions, each engaging a Brute.

"Arcanine," said the officer, "Use Flare Blitz!"

Arcanine charged at the Brute and slammed into it, knocking it back, overloading the shields and melting a section of its armour. The Brute screamed before Officer Jenny dispatched it with a shot to the head.

"Alright Growlithe!" said Gary, producing a Poke Ball from his pocket, "Let's do this!"

A smaller version of Arcanine appeared from the Ball.

"Use Crunch!" he yelled.

Growlithe rushed towards the Brute without hesitation, latching its jaws around the Brute's right arm like a bear trap. The Brute roared in anger.

Gary pulled out another Ball, yelling, "Wartortle, use Rapid Spin!"

A medium-sized, blue turtle shell shot from the Ball at the Brute, spinning as it went, striking it in the head and knocking it back.

The shell landed and the Pokémon emerged. It had a blue head, arms and legs, large fluffy ears and a thick furry tail. Its large brown eyes were locked on the Brute, watching closely.

"Bubblebeam!" yelled Gary.

The Brute stared in confusion as Wartortle spat a hail of large bubbles at it. Despite the smarting sensation of Growlithe's teeth, it then started roaring with laughter at this joke of an attack approaching it.

In arrogance, it touched a bubble to pop it. The bubble blew up like a small bomb, taking several centimetres of the Brute's finger with it. That wasn't very funny at all.

Except, of course, for Gary, who started laughing his head off.

And then the other bubbles started striking their mark.

Growlithe released its grip and backed off as a barrage of exploding bubbles proceeded to rip the Brute's chest and abdomen apart piece by piece.

Gary managed to control his laughing fit and said, "Alright Growlithe, finish it with Fire Fang!"

Growlithe jumped up at the Brute's head. As it did, its teeth caught fire. It clamped its jaws around the Brute's face, boiling its non-heat-resistant brain alive.

Gary chuckled as he recalled his team and pulled back to find cover in the rubble.

Meanwhile, Ash, Charmander and Pikachu were having no such luck. This Brute was learning quickly, moving about and utilizing its jetpack to dodge Charmander's Flamethrower, which could only singe and near-miss at best, which didn't really do much. At the same time, it was launching barrage after barrage of plasma fire at Ash and Pikachu, who were taking cover behind a fallen Hunter corpse.

Ash gritted his teeth. "C'mon, we need to do better than this! Charmander, take cover in the rubble of that building and flank him!"

Charmander nodded and ran as fast as its legs would carry it. The Brute noticed this and opened fire on the small lizard.

"Now Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on his jetpack!"

Pikachu did exactly that, not missing this time. The jetpack suddenly spiralled out of control, much to the surprise, and chagrin, of the Brute. With a surge of power, it ripped off its mounting, looped about a bit and then slammed into the Brute's stomach. They went flying and exploded against the wall of the Silph Co. building.

Pikachu and Charmander jumped for joy at their success, but Ash stared horrified at the large hole in the building that used to be his opponent.

"I...I killed him," he stammered, mortified by this. "I knew that it had to be done but..."

"Ash, GET DOWN NOW!" yelled the ODST.

Ash briefly came to his senses and stumbled over to the safety of the rubble.

Meanwhile, Anthony was slugging it out with the last Brute.

Gallade jumped, flipped and twirled like a dancer, easily avoiding the assault of the Brute's Plasma Rifle.

"Swords Dance!" he yelled.

Gallade's arms glowed an eerie blue, and it twirled about erratically, dodging more plasma shots as it did, before finishing up with a leaping front flip right over the Brute's head, landing behind it.

"Close Combat!" exclaimed Anthony.

The Brute swung its gigantic fist at Gallade's head, who ducked into the swing. Gallade jumped up and roundhouse kicked it, before launching into a flurry of punches and kicks aimed at the Brute's gut, who buffered under the blow.

"Finish it with Psycho Cut!" said Anthony, clenching his fist in a triumphant pose.

Gallade's right arm glowed pink and it wound up slightly, before slicing in a downward slash that left a gaping, pink aura-infested cut diagonally across the Brute's chest, also cutting part of its armour harness.

The Brute stumbled back and toppled to the ground, roaring in pain.

"That was awesome!" Anthony exclaimed, walking over. He folded his arms across his chest in an epic pose, standing above the Brute's face.

The Brute snarled defiantly, and before anyone could blink, raised its Plasma Rifle and fired.

One could hear a coin drop as everyone stared in horror.

Gallade's eyes were like dinner plates as its trainer dropped to the ground with a thud. A large gaping hole on the right side of Anthony's chest was evidence enough of the weapon's handiwork, and a pool of blood quickly collected around him.

Gallade rushed to its trainer's side, cradling him it its arms.

"..."

Anthony could hardly utter a word. Gallade, with tears starting to stream down its face, nodded softly. Then he went limp.

"ODST," said Sabrina walking over, startling everyone, "The two were communicating telepathically, and from what I picked up, Anthony's last wish was to entrust Gallade to your care".

"...What?" He blinked in confusion.

"You just inherited Anthony's Pokémon," Sabrina restated.

"Well...umm..." He didn't know what to say. There was nothing TO say. He barely knew the kid, and now He had suddenly scored his Pokémon.

The Brute chuckled evilly where it lay.

Gallade screamed in fury and viciously kicked the Brute across the head, killing it instantly.

Everyone just watched as Gallade unleashed its rage, repeatedly kicking and punching the body like a madman.

After several minutes of that spectacle, he gently searched Anthony's pockets, producing only a single Poke Ball.

"Humph," He sighed, "the kid only had one Pokémon on him anyway".

He recalled Gallade as it started to calm down.

"Let's get back to the Pokémon Centre. Tomorrow, we need to move on".

"Hey, look what I found," said Gary, walking over with the Ultra Ball.

"Oh, that's mine," He said simply.

Gary gave Him the Ball, and He examined it carefully.

Then it dawned on Him.

In the midst of all the chaos, He had successfully caught Latias!

Beneath His visor, He grinned softly.

"And you thought the fight was over," He muttered under his breath.

"What happened?" asked Ash.

He pressed the button, and in a flash of red light, Latias reappeared.

_Congratulations_, she said, y_ou caught me after all_. _As agreed, I will devote my life for your cause. I promise you I won't let you down_.

Everybody stared wide-eyed.

"You caught a _legendary_?" Gary exclaimed, "You lucky mother fucker..."

Suddenly, Latias became enveloped in a bright light, and a pink aura slowly washed over her. He noticed her right wing seemingly repair itself in an instant, and the light dissipated as she hovered into the air.

"...What was that?" He asked.

"That was Recover," replied Sabrina, "It allows the user to restore a large portion of its health".

"Cool..."

"Pity it won't be able to help Anthony," Ash muttered despondently.

Everyone stared blankly for several seconds.

An ominous whistling snapped them from their thoughts as a large blue plasma bolt hurtled from the sky, and He remembered there was a Wraith still monitoring them carefully.

"Everyone scatter!" He yelled, "Rendezvous back at the Pokémon Centre!"

No-one needed to be told twice as they ran off in all directions.

Raichu finally came round, blinking and staring about just as He snatched the mouse up in His arms.

"...Rai-Chu?" it asked sleepily.

"Well, I caught Latias," He said as He ran, "And it was no small effort on your part to do so. Thank you very much".

Raichu nodded lazily and went back to sleep.

He ran towards the location He estimated to be the position of the Wraith, and sure enough, it was nestled nearby the train station.

A Grunt looked about anxiously from the gunner's seat behind the Plasma Cannon.

As quietly as He could, He whispered to Latias a set of instructions. She nodded and then suddenly disappeared into thin air.

He blinked. Latias was completely gone in the blink of an eye.

_This is one of my favourite abilities_, she explained. _By shifting the angle of the down covering my body, I can refract light rays and render myself invisible to the naked eye_, _or even alter my appearance completely_.

He smiled to himself as He thought _Hit em hard_.

_This is for Anthony!_ The telepathic voice suddenly screeched as the Wraith became surrounded by a pink aura and levitated into the air.

The Grunt looked about in fear and surprise as the sound of grinding and twisting metal reverberated from the inside. The Grunt's last expression was one of _Oh Fuck_ as the Wraith exploded in a ball of blue light and fire.

He chuckled softly as He pressed the button on the Ultra Ball. The red beam honed in on Latias, drawing her back in. He placed the Ball in his pocket and started walking back to the Pokémon Centre to join the others.


	8. Enter the Hornets

CHAPTER 8

Seven figures stood sordidly around a small pile of rocks on the roadside. A small cross was poking out the top, with a grey sports cap hanging limply off it.

A soft breeze blew through, sending a chill down their spines.

"...Let this be a reminder to us all...," the armoured one spoke up, "that this fight is for our very survival. No matter how easy it may be going at times, we simply cannot afford to slip up. It will cost you your life...as it cost Anthony his".

"Even though he was only in this fanfic for like, three chapters," mumbled Gary, "He will be in our memories for the rest of them".

"He seemed like a good person," said Ash, "fighting for the safety of others".

"Pika-Pika..." Pikachu mumbled softly.

"He was a person of good morals," said Sabrina simply, "That much I do know about him".

"I never met him until today," said Officer Jenny sheepishly, "So I really don't know what to say other than he died doing what he loved: fighting alongside his closest and most trustworthy friends, Pokémon. He put his life on the line, and unfortunately he lost it".

They all slowly turned to gaze at Gallade, who remained completely motionless, standing with its head hung limply and its eyes shut tight.

_This wasn't supposed to happen_, a new voice suddenly burst into His head, _it shouldn't be this way_.

He turned his gaze to the Blade Pokémon, who still hadn't budged an inch, apart from a slight, but noticeable trickle of clear liquid dripping down the side of its face.

_My job was to protect his life with mine... that is our bit in life... to protect those who need protection most... and I failed... I wasn't fast enough..._

Unlike Latias, who had a soft, sweet telepathic voice, Gallade's was at the opposite end of the spectrum, deep, husky and gave away its user's emotions.

_He was the closest friend I ever had_, said Gallade, _None of the other members of the team ever took me seriously, since I wasn't a Dragon-Type like them...those typist bigots. They don't care for anyone but themselves and members of their own group._

_And now he's gone._

_Just like the rest of them._

"Do you feel like telling me what happened?" He asked gently, placing a hand on the trembling Psychic's shoulder.

_...We were in Saffron City when the aliens arrived. They simply showed up without warning and started killing anything that moved for no reason. We Pokémon tried to protect the Humans, but in the end, they had the advantage in surprise and superior firepower, and simply picked us off as they chose, no matter how many of their own went down. Anthony decided to retreat, so we did. Two members of our team, Zweilous and Charizard were killed within minutes of each other, and Haxorus was mortally wounded during the retreat. No amount of potions can heal a severed artery in an instant, and he bled to death before the potions took full effect, which was in about 10 minutes._

_Garchomp was killed when we were ambushed just outside Cerulean City and Dragonite was picked off the following morning. And then we ran into you guys._

"Sounds like you had it rough then," said Sabrina, listening in on the story.

"That's an understatement," He said softly.

_I... I don't know what to think anymore. I couldn't protect my team members when they needed me... I couldn't protect my own trainer... I don't even know why I bother anymore! I can't protect anyone! Wh... What am I fighting for?_

"For the future," He said simply, "You need to be resilient, and push on when things seem impossible".

_But..._

"No buts," He interrupted, "it's times like this when you simply have to swallow your fears and fight on! If there is one thing you need to remember, it's that if you want to live by the sword, you need to be prepared to die by it as well. Anthony obviously knew and accepted the risks, and in the end his brief moment of arrogance was his undoing. It's not your fault he's gone Gallade, so push on, and fight for his sake. His name and legacy can live on in you, no matter how short this brief moment of fame will be!"

"Rai-Rai!" Raichu exclaimed for emphasis.

"Now, are you ready for a war?" He bellowed, clenching his fist.

Everyone nodded.

_We will follow you to the very end_, said Latias from inside her Poke Ball.

"I'm not gonna sit here and let our planet be destroyed while I can still do something about it!" said Ash determinedly.

"Pika-Pika!" the yellow mouse nodded in agreement.

"Then let's get to work! We'll need to get back to the Pokémon Centre and meet up with the others to determine our next course of action".

Gallade heaved in a big sigh, and then nodded, _For Anthony's sake_.

As they started to walk off, a loud boom echoed from the sky.

Everyone looked up to see several streaks of light hurtle towards the ground.

"What are those?" asked Gary.

"They're..." He drifted off in realisation, "Drop pods! The UNSC are finally here!"

_The... UNSC? What's that?_ asked Gallade with a confused expression.

"They are the Military organisation that is trying to defend Humanity from the Alien onslaught," He replied.

There was a loud crash as the pods slammed into the ground on the other side of the city from them.

"Let's go!" He exclaimed, starting to run.

They all followed Him to the impact site, a group of craters near the train station. There were seven in total.

The pods all opened up and several figures strode out.

There were 6 ODSTs similar to Him, and a tall figure in a different set of armour, a Spartan, He realised.

The ODSTs were all armed with Assault Rifles and Shotguns, with two exceptions. A particularly tall soldier carried around a Machine Gun which probably belonged on a Falcon turret, and another soldier had a Sniper Rifle.

The Spartan was of the III series, by the look of it, with an EOD helmet with a CMN mod, Commando shoulder guards and chest piece, a TacPad wrist piece, a Softcase mod on his left thigh piece and Para knee guards. His armour was mostly black in colouration with red accents. His visor was pitch-black as well, rounding off his overall intimidating appearance. In his hands was a M45 Shotgun, and there was an M6 Magnum holstered to his right thigh.

This Spartan was geared to kick ass.

"Whoa..." Ash murmured in awe.

"A Spartan?" Officer Jenny stared wide-eyed.

"How's it going?" The Spartan asked casually, walking over.

"I'm glad you arrived," He greeted, "This planet is being overrun quicker than we can organize a counter strike, where's the rest of the support?"

"Up there," came the flippant reply.

"Well, how long until they get here?" asked Officer Jenny.

"Dunno. We're part of the vanguard force, tasked with clearing up LZs for the rest of the guys coming in. If you have some sort of Militia force already set up, we'd appreciate the help. Otherwise, there's a fleet of Evac birds on standby waiting to extract survivors. Suit yourself".

An ODST walked up to Him, "What's your name, rank and unit trooper?"

"Lance Corporal Ben Shearer, of the 105th Expeditionary Force, assigned to Copperhead Squad, sir," He said briskly.

"Glad to meet you Corporal, where's the rest of your unit?"

"We were separated during our insertion, and I ended up sling-shotting around X-387, ending up here instead".

"Well, it looks like you'll be with us for a while then. Welcome to Hornet Squad, Phoenix Company, of the new 367th Assault Force. I'm Gunnery Sergeant Jenkins, that's Hawk, Graze, Sparky, Lofty and Dexter".

The respective soldiers nodded in greeting.

"Well people, the Infantry will be arriving by tomorrow, so let's prepare them a warm welcome," said the Spartan.

"Is that who I think it is?" He quietly asked Jenkins.

"Yup. Chief Petty Officer B-468, or as he prefers, Jake," came the reply.

"I haven't seen him since Reach," He murmured.

"You know this psycho?"

"Yeah, we were probably the last people off that hell-hole. He's a fairly straightforward person, really".

"...That's one way of putting it, yes," Jenkins chuckled.

"Alright people," said Jake to the ODSTs, "Let's get to Checkpoint Alpha and clear up the first zone. Jenkins, get Benny here up to date, and let's go!"

"Yes sir!"

"Sunshine, it's good to see you again," the Spartan nodded at Him.

"Likewise," He nodded in return.

"Sir," said Officer Jenny, "If I may, there are civilians that-"

"Ut-tat-at-at-at-ta," Jake interrupted, "Please don't call me 'sir'".

"Okay, _Jake_, There are civilians that need immediate extraction not far from here".

"Can't help you there, sorry," he shrugged.

The Spartan and his squad then walked off into the distance, except for Ben.

"You comin'?" Jake turned.

"Negative, I'll watch over the civvies," He replied.

"Suit yourself," the Spartan shrugged and continued walking.

The Spartan suddenly stopped himself, finally noticing Raichu, "Got yourself a new pet there, Sunshine?"

"Not really... it's kind of hard to describe".

Raichu's cheeks cackled, not taking too kindly to being called a 'pet'.

The Spartan stared at the orange mouse.

"...Funny lookin' bugger, isn't he? What is it, exactly?"

"This is Raichu, and from what I've seen, it's exactly the sort of thing we needed at Reach, Harvest, and every other battle against the Covenant".

"Is that so?" Jake asked, amused. "What does it do? Make them die from fits of laughter?"

Raichu visibly flinched.

"No, it can attack using electricity," He defended.

"Huh," the Spartan was unconvinced, "I'll have to see it in action then".

"Jake," an ODST spoke up, "We've got activity a klick east of here".

"Let's check it out then, shall we?" he replied, pumping the shotgun.

They all started moving towards the source, hearing the drone of Phantom engines approaching.

"Alright," Jake said, "Hawk, I want you in that building marked 'Silph Co.', provide overwatch and sniper support".

Hawk nodded and flicked the safety on his Sniper Rifle as he started sprinting off.

"Lofty, I want that machine gun in that grocery store over there".

"Da comrade," the big man nodded.

"Everyone else, find cover amongst the rubble. Dexter, you take the civvies a bit further back and provide cover for them".

"Yes sir," they all replied.

"Jenkins and Sunshine, on me".

Jenkins nodded, and He pulled out a Poke Ball, recalling Gallade.

The ODSTs stared at Him.

"What?" He questioned their gazes.

"...the fuck was that? With that red beam and shit...?" asked Jake, perplexed.

"I'll explain later," He said hurriedly.

They took up positions around the Eastern Gatehouse.

"Alright buddy," He crouched down to Raichu, "These people are soldiers just like me, so their assistance will be a big help. Save your energy, and just stick with using Thunder for now".

Raichu nodded and shifted its gaze anxiously to the gatehouse.

They all sat in tense silence as the sound of Covenant voices grew louder. Then all went silent.

Raichu gulped in nervousness.

He raised his Spiker towards the gate.

"_Boss_," Hawk's voice came over the intercom, "_I gotta lot of numbers and movement. Prepare to get loud and busy down there_".

"Heh, just another day in the office," Jake chuckled. One would think he was smiling under his helmet.

Then it happened.

Almost simultaneously, a loud yell went up, and the doors burst open. Numerous Grunts, Jackals and Brutes came charging out. A swarm of Buggers burst from behind them, flying overhead.

The Humans opened fire, taking down scores within the first few seconds.

There was only a dozen yards between them though, and hand to hand combat quickly ensued.

Jake quickly emptied his Shotgun into any handy target, and then started using it as a club, bashing in heads left, right and center.

The ODSTs strafed about wildly, meleeing anything that got too close.

Ben made use of the Spiker's fixed blades, cutting the smaller foes apart.

Raichu unleashed a Thunder that tore up several closely-bunched enemies in one go.

Jake noticed and whistled in awe. "Not bad," He mused.

The Covenant kept up the assault, sending wave after wave at the entrenched humans, suffering heavy casualties in the process.

Lofty and his machine gun really made a difference, and in the end the Covenant finally pulled back in disarray after a brief firefight that cost them as much as 100 of their number.

"It won't be long before they're back," Jake spoke up, "We'll need to round up the civvies and get them to a safe location".

"All the known survivors are taking refuge in the Pokémon Centre," said Officer Jenny, "I'll take you there".

"Lead the way," he nodded.

...

"Just hang tight Misty, and everything'll be alright..."

Nurse Joy's voice was one of the most soothing things She had ever heard. It had a soft tone that seemed like an angel from Heaven was talking to her. Like everything was going to be okay.

"A-Ash...where's Ash?" she croaked weakly.

"He's fine at the moment," replied Joy gently, "he's out with Officer Jenny at the moment".

She smiled, the knowledge that he was in good hands helping to put her at ease.

Joy slowly stood up and wandered to the entrance. Several figures in the distance caught her attention. She beckoned an officer to come have a look.

"They're finally back," the officer noted, "but who are those people? They look like... ODSTs...and a...Spartan? Are the UNSC here already?"

"Looks like it," said Joy, "Perhaps there is still hope that we can fight back against the alien onslaught, and be at peace once more".

Several moments later, they all entered the Pokémon Centre. The appearance of the Spartan and the ODSTs startled everyone.

"What, is this everyone?" asked Jake, looking around.

"Everyone from this city, yes," answered Officer Jenny.

"Flippin' heck... poor bastards have lost everything..." he muttered.

"Officer Jenny, who are they?" asked a small boy, huddling up to his Marshtomp.

"They are going to help us liberate our planet and fight back against the aliens," she replied, "isn't that right?"

"That's what we're here for, if I'm not mistaken," said Jenkins.

"But... there are so _many_ aliens... how are you going to fight them all?" asked the boy.

Jake crouched down to the boy's level, looking him right in the eyes, "Don't worry, I can promise you we'll get it down one way or another".

The boy nodded nervously, intimidated by the Spartan's huge size and appearance.

The Spartan straightened up, turning to the police officers, "Now if you'll excuse us, we have shit to blow up".

"I'm sorry?" asked an officer, confused.

"We've been assigned to hit a radio tower a few klicks east of here. The Covenant has captured it and it won't be long before they reconfigure it to send out a beacon for reinforcements," Jake explained, "So we're gonna either retake it or blow it sky high".

All the locals looked at him with a horrified expression.

Nurse Joy spoke up, "You don't mean... the one in Lavender Town, do you?"

"I dunno what the town is called," replied Jake, "but the radio tower is a liability, and we can't afford to let it be used for their scumbag purposes. If we can't have it, neither can they. If you want to come watch the fireworks, you're more than welcome to come. If you can fight, that's even better. If not, sit tight. You might see the bang from here anyway".

With that, the UNSC soldiers disappeared out the door.

"So that was your name..." Ash said to Him, "Ben... isn't it?"

"Uh... yes," He said sheepishly.

"Huh... well I'm glad we now have a name to apply to you," Ash said enthusiastically, "It makes for easier character recognition during dialogue. Now, I don't know about you, but I want to help those other guys fight off the aliens!"

"I'm sorry... what?" He was taken back, "You WANT to go out there?"

"That's what I said. I told you I'm not going to sit back and watch our homes burn! Those aliens have hurt a lot of people, and I'm going to be a part of fighting them off! I don't care what happens to me, I just want the world to be a better place!"

"Ash..." Misty sat up on the chair, "You're still alive!"

"Misty!" he rushed over, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine..." she tried to stand up. A sharp pain in her leg quickly changed her mind. She noticed bandages wrapped tightly around her left thigh.

"Dammit..." she gingerly sat back down, "I can't walk. My leg is killing me!"

"Don't worry," Ash placed a hand on her shoulder, "The guys in the UNSC are going to help us, and we will fight for our planet's survival!"

He turned and started walking after Hornet Squad.

"Ash..." Misty called out, "...be careful".

He nodded and turned to Ben, "Are you coming?"

He nodded and turned to Raichu, "You stay here and get some rest. We won't be long".

Raichu shook its head.

"What do you mean 'no'? You're not in exactly the best shape to continue fighting, and I have Gallade, Latias and Larvesta to back me up".

Everyone's head turned in unison, "YOU CAUGHT LATIAS?"

"Uh, yeah. It's a funny story actually, for another time..."

Everyone crowded around, "Can we see it? Pleeeeeeease?"

He shook his head, "...Fine".

He pulled out the Ultra Ball and pressed the button. Latias appeared in a bright flash.

There was a murmur of "Whoa..." as Latias stretched out and yawned.

"Seems like you have quite a fan base," He said.

_Well, as a Legendary Pokémon, there's only one of me in the world at a given time_, she replied, _So for them, I am a once-in-a-lifetime sort of thing. Consider me a celebrity, if you will._

"So... COOOOOL!" the boy from before stared in awe.

He reached out and gently stroked her neck. She smiled in return.

Several other hands reached out and started stroking the Eon Pokémon.

After several minutes, He broke them up, "Alright people, let's give Latias some breathing space. We have work to do!"

"Are you gonna help drive off the bad guys?" asked young trainer.

"Damn straight, we will! I promise you, those aliens will wish they were never here by the time we're done with them!"

There was a chorus of "Good Luck!" as He and Latias exited the building, where Ash was waiting patiently outside.

"Wait up!" Gary called after them, "I'm coming too!"

Ash nodded, and they started running towards Lavender Town.

...

_Up ahead..._

Lavender Town was a small town, with nothing much doing other than a tall radio tower in the north-east corner, a shrine in the south-east, some houses in the south-west, and a Pokémon Centre with a small store next door in the north-west.

Except all the buildings apart from the radio tower were completely flattened, with a Covenant encampment set up in their places.

There were Covenant soldiers bustling about everywhere. Some were standing guard, some were carrying equipment, and some were up on the tower.

There was a Phantom hovering overhead, keeping watch.

Hornet Squad were settled in near the west entrance when Ash, Gary, Ben and Latias finally caught up.

"Looks like we have some spectators," mused Jenkins.

"Actually, we're going to help you," said Gary.

There was a brief moment of silence as Jake struggled to refrain from laughing.

"Come on, give them a go!" He said, "They themselves can't do much, but I've been around Pokémon long enough to know that they pack a punch in a fight. They _are_ able help you in the attack".

Jake considered this, and made his decision.

"Alright, we need you lot to make a diversion. Draw the bad guys' attention away from the tower long enough so that we can assault it. The less guards there are the better".

"So... we'll be decoys?" asked Gary anxiously.

"Yes. Don't worry, we won't take too long, and then we'll attack them from the rear, and wipe them out quick enough that there will still be something left of you worth rescuing," replied Jake.

Gary stared nervously at them, "You can't be serious".

"Do I look like I'm joking?" the Spartan asked in a deadpan voice.

"I can't tell because of your helmet," Gary said equally deadpan.

"Then let's leave it that way, shall we? Look, there is an entrance to the town from the south. Is there a way to get there and come from that direction?"

"Yes," replied Gary, "But we'll have to go the long way..."

"Hmmm... what about that passage through the mountains from the north? Actually, you know what? Fuck it. Hornets, we're going to come in from the north. We'll stop back in Saffron and pick up a guide who knows this place who can take us there. You lot, stay here. I'll send you a signal with this flashlight".

He pulled out a small torch, "When I flash this, do something that will draw them from the tower, like attacking briefly and then running away".

"...Seems legit," murmured Ash.

"Sounds good to me," agreed Ben.

_I have a better idea than that_, said Latias.

He turned to face her, "Hmm?"

_What if I act as the decoy? Using my invisibility, I can slip to another location, cause havoc, disappear, the soldiers can move in and do what they have to do, we kill them all, then we go home._

"That's... not a bad idea actually".

"What is?" asked Jenkins.

He explained the plan to Hornet Squad, and then her abilities and powers.

They merely stared blankly at Him like He was mad.

"Oookaaaay, let's give that a go then!" said Jake.

Latias nodded and vanished into thin air.

From their vacant stares, He could tell they were dumbfounded.

"Soooo, where'd she go?" asked Graze.

She suddenly reappeared at the northern entrance. Her eyes glowed blue and the main cannon on the Phantom suddenly exploded in a ball of fire.

The UNSC stared incredulously for a moment, and then the entire camp suddenly came alive.

The swarm of Covenant turned and stared at the red and white creature that appeared from nowhere, and suddenly turned their plasma guns towards it and opened fire on the intruder.

Latias calmly disappeared again and floated off, unnoticed.

The Covenant stared blankly.

The Brute Chieftain in charge burst from its tent, yelling in a strange language. A Jackal meekly tried to explain what happened. The Chieftain had nothing of it though, punched the Jackal clean across the camp for its incompetence, and went back inside its tent, muttering under its breath.

After a moment, the Covenant resumed their original duties.

Then a fuel canister suddenly blew up, and once again the camp was in uproar.

From the bushes, Jake muttered, "Can't she do anything better than that?"

He shrugged.

The Covenant were all buzzing about when the squad inside the Phantom all suddenly started falling out. Then it lost power, and the dropship suddenly plunged to earth, crushing several supply crates beneath it.

Latias suddenly reappeared at the south gate. Everyone with a gun handy opened fire on her.

Her eyes flashed green and a Protect barrier instantly formed. The shield harmlessly absorbed the plasma fire.

Hornet Squad took their cue and started sprinting towards the tower. Nobody noticed them as they burst inside, shooting up the Grunts and Jackals inside.

Nobody noticed when they climbed on the roof and placed explosive charges at the base of the tower.

It was too late when someone DID finally notice, as they jumped down and opened fire on the Covenants' backs.

The Covenant quickly dissolved into confusion as Gary, Ash, Pikachu, Charmander, Growlithe, Ben, Larvesta and Gallade burst from the west entrance, attacking indiscriminately.

Latias dropped the shield and launched a Dragon Pulse into the crowd, ploughing through them and detonating the Plasma grenades on their harnesses.

The Covenant were caught in a trap as they tried to fight back. Ben, Ash and Gary used the bushes for cover as their Pokémon attacked, burning them alive or slicing them up.

In a few short minutes, the entire group of Covenant soldiers were dead.

Three Engineers meekly floated around the top of the tower.

"What do we do about them?" asked Jenkins.

Jake stared at them, "Let 'em go. It's no fun killing something that won't fight back. Meanwhile, let's burn this place to the ground, and we'll rejoin the others in Saffron".

So Ash, Gary and Ben had their respective Pokémon use Flamethrower on anything Covenant, cremating the bodies and destroying the camp.

As they all turned and headed back to the Pokémon Centre, Jake pulled a small device from his pocket and pressed a button.

An explosion tore up the radio tower's mounting brackets, and the structure toppled to the ground in a heap.

"There's nothing a reasonable amount of C4 can't do," Jake chuckled.

Ben shook his head as he recalled his team.

The fight ahead has become a bit easier...

...


	9. Phoenix Company

CHAPTER 9

**Somewhere in the middle of nowhere...**

"...Jessie?" a weak voice called out.

"...Yes James?" a second voice replied.

"Do you think they're gone?"

"I sure hope so... that blast-off hurt a lot more than it usually does..."

"Dat make's Pikachu's Thunderbolt feel like a weak slap..." a third voice groaned.

"More like... a stroke with a feather..." James moaned.

"C-Can either of you even move?" asked Jessie.

"Hang on...ugh...nope".

"Me neither. I think my leg is trapped under something. Hang on... nope, it's too heavy. I can't budge it..."

"I think... we need to find help. Dose aliens pack a punch. We need to get back to base. I'm sure de boss will be able to do something about dis situation..."

"Doesn't he still have that secret project he was working on?" asked James.

"Possibly," replied Meowth, "'Cause if he does, den dat's just what we need to turn dis little alien incursion back home!"

"I'm sure he's working on it already..."

...

**Meanwhile, at the Rocket Base, in an undisclosed location...**

"Well this sucks".

Giovanni stared at the Alien horde that had stormed the base and had now cornered him in his office.

There had been a vicious fight that raged all across the base which teetered back and forth before the Covenant were finally able to capture the Control Room, redirecting the base's defences against the Rocket troops.

The next five minutes quickly became a massacre as the Rockets and their Pokémon all were killed off by their own turrets.

The crowd of Aliens surrounding Giovanni parted as a tall Chieftain boldly strode up to the man in the orange tuxedo.

In perfect English, it said, "I am going to give you a few moments to say a few last words, vermin. Make them count".

"Well isn't that nice," Giovanni said with a smile, "Come to think of it, there IS something I would like to say..."

They all watched as he sat down in his chair.

"Go to Hell," He said simply, pressing a button, "All of you".

There was a loud hiss as a large capsule on the far wall suddenly opened up.

The Covenant turned in surprise and took a few steps back as a creature emerged.

It opened its deep-purple eyes.

It looked about at the Covenant soldiers.

They raised their weapons to fire when a blue glow came upon them all.

All at once, they started screaming and writhing in pain, and then they were silent.

Giovanni smiled.

"Now... if you don't mind, we have an alien horde to drive off. If anyone's going to take over the world, it'll be Team Rocket! Not some rag-tag bunch of backwards-ass, alien fucks. Now... we have our work cut out for us, let's get to it...Mewtwo".

...

He stared at the photo in his hand, off in a daydream as everyone else bustled around him.

The Pokémon Centre was starting to become crowded, filling up with Police Officers, trainers, Pokémon and UNSC soldiers.

Officer Jenny, Nurse Joy, Jake and Jenkins were all discussing a change of location when Officer Jenny's phone buzzed.

"It seems that the radio tower was being used to disrupt our signals..." she muttered as she checked the message, "It's from the Elite 4, saying to meet up in the Whirl Islands".

"The Whirl Islands?" Ash scratched his head, "I've never heard of that place before".

"It's a small atoll south of Johto," explained Sabrina, "The caverns there will make a good refuge from the invasion".

"It's also rumoured to be the home of the Legendary Pokémon of the Seas, Lugia," said Nurse Joy.

_That's no rumour_, said Latias, _he really is there_. _He's currently hibernating until something goes wrong, like the Legendary Birds starting another fight._

"Well then he's going to get a rather nasty surprise when he wakes up," He said dryly.

"Are you acquainted with the other Legendaries of this world?" Sabrina asked Latias.

_Some of them_, She replied, _but the others are otherwise unreachable or too hostile to even approach. Not everyone is as civilised as me, you know._

"Uh-huh," He raised an eyebrow sceptically, "Define 'civilised', then".

_What I'm saying is, some of the other Legendaries aren't exactly as friendly as me, and are rather a bit too in-touch with their wild side for their own good, and therefore are almost incapable of rational thinking for anyone but themselves_.

"Is there anyone who you think would be able to help us?" He asked.

_All of them will fight for their own safety, but you might be able to convince pretty much any of the Psychic-Types to tag along. We generally possess a higher level of intelligence than the others. For example, the Legendary Birds have the collective IQ of a bag of nails, and the Legendary Beasts aren't much better. _

"What are the Legendary Birds and Beasts?" He asked, confused.

_The Legendary Birds are Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres, the Titans of Ice, Lightning and Fire respectively. The Beasts are little more than their ground-dwelling counterparts: Suicune, Raikou and Entei, although Suicune is a Water-Type, not Ice_, She replied.

"What about your brother, Latios? Would he join us?" asked Joy.

_I'd be able to convince him no problem_, said Latias, _He's in Johto at the moment anyway._

"...I'm curious," said Officer Jenny, "Why are you in Kanto anyway? Aren't you from Hoenn?"

_We're here on a quest to find the Soul Dew, an item of great importance to us. We heard a rumour that it is in one of these regions somewhere, so we decided to see for ourselves._

"The Soul Dew?" Jenny murmured in surprise, "I have heard of it, but I don't know why it would be all the way out here..."

"What does it do, exactly?" He asked.

_It vastly increases our speed and offensive capabilities_, She replied, _Not to mention it looks fantastic on a necklace..._

"Um, excuse me?" Jake spoke up, "When are we going to be leaving? We have arses to kick and no time to kick them in".

"Just hang on a second!" Officer Jenny snapped, "One does not simply move to the Whirl Islands without a bit of preparation! Once we leave the safety of the Pokémon Centre, we're at the mercy of the Aliens, so we'll need to-"

"Uh-huh, that's nice. None of us have anything but what we have on us, so we're ready to go pretty much anytime," he interrupted.

Officer Jenny grumbled under her breath.

"Hornet Squad, I think it's about time we cleared up the first LZ," said Jake loudly, ignoring her.

The ODSTs nodded and walked out.

"UNSC _Tornado_, this is Hornet 0-1," he said into his radio, "the first LZ will be clear within the hour, copy?"

"_Copy that 0-1_," a voice spoke back.

The Spartan and his team filed out of the Pokémon Centre and off into the distance.

"Well people," said Officer Jenny, "We're leaving this place. Our journey will be taken in several dozen stages. We'll stop at each city on the way for a brief rest, and then we keep moving. If we run into survivors, we bring them along with us. Leave no humans or Pokémon behind".

"When are we leaving, miss?" asked a trainer.

"In the next half an hour, so start getting ready now," she replied.

Gary quickly dialled a number on his phone, and the ring dial started beeping.

"C'mon Grampa, answer it!" he begged softly.

The dial continued to beep, with no answer.

"Dammit," he cursed under his breath, "I hope he's still alive when we get there".

"Are you alright Gary?" asked Ash, concerned.

"No, it's fine," he shook his head.

...

Hornet Squad quickly shuffled through the backstreets of Saffron and headed for the east exit.

Upon entering the gatehouse, they quickly scanned Route 8, before bursting out the door.

"Watch your sectors," Jake cautioned, "Any one of these trees could be hiding a Covvie".

"Scanner's clean," said Hawk, "We're in the clear".

"UNSC _Tornado_, this is Hornet 0-2, LZ Foxtrot is clear," said Jenkins, "Do you copy?"

"_Copy that Hornet, Birds en-route. ETA ten minutes_," replied the radio voice.

A high whistle quickly caught their attention, causing them to race for cover as more rang out.

"Contacts! Contacts!" yelled Jenkins, "It's an ambush!"

"Oh, you did NOT just shoot that pink shit at me!" yelled Jake, dashing for a tree.

"Covvies at 2 o'clock!" yelled Graze.

"More at 9 o'clock!" exclaimed Sparky.

They split up in different directions, trying to find their hidden assailants, but the intensity of the fire forced them to keep low.

"Where are you, faggot?" Jake muttered under his breath, "Bloody Scanner's fuckin' useless..."

The snapping of branches caused him to look up, to see a Jackal with a Needle Rifle stepping on a weak branch.

He grinned and pulled out his Pistol, killing the hapless creature with a shot to the head.

A pink spike suddenly appeared in front of his face, startling him.

"Jesus, that was close!" he exclaimed as he ran around behind the tree, with more shots zipping past.

The ODSTs searched the trees for the source of the attacks, but the Covvies remained elusive.

And then at once, it all stopped. Everything went deathly quiet. The ODSTs looked about nervously, unsure of what was happening.

A deep growling sound echoed through the shrubbery.

"That doesn't sound good..." murmured Sparky.

They all scanned around their surroundings.

A bush rustled to their right. In an instant, they turned on a dime, training their weapons on the bush.

The growling continued as the bushes continued to shake.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are, you son of a bitch..." said Jake.

A creature suddenly burst from the bushes behind them.

They all turned to fire.

The creature tripped and fell on its face.

They stared at the Pokémon before them, and started laughing.

It was a small cat-like creature, closely resembling a lion cub from Earth. Except its face and forelegs were blue, with a yellow band around each leg, and its hind legs were black with blue toes. It had large, yellow eyes, and its ears had yellow insides. Its thin black tail had a yellow star-shaped thing on the end of it, and there was a band of black fur around its neck.

"Shinx..." it mumbled softly, wide-eyed, then it got up and ran off.

"I can believe we got spooked by THAT little thing!" chuckled Jenkins, "Heh-Heh-Heh..."

"What a crack-up..." laughed Sparky.

An enormous column of fire suddenly consumed an ODST.

"Holy Shit!" exclaimed Jake.

"Dexter!" yelled Jenkins.

Dexter's charred form dropped to the ground.

They all stared at a large canine-esque Pokémon before them.

It was covered in brown fur, with patches of cream and silver on its chest. There were large black bands around its legs, which also had white fur around its feet. Its face looked like some sort of festival mask, with three red spikes on either side, three yellow spikes at the top, and a white mustache-looking thing. On its back was grey-coloured fur flaring off in different directions, and what looked like a white plume of smoke that stretched from the base of its neck and into a tail. It had deep, red eyes that were trained squarely on the large, robotic-looking humanoids in front of it.

Dexter groaned as he struggled to push himself off the ground.

"...How are you still alive?" asked Sparky in surprise.

"...I... don't know..." Dexter cringed, breathing heavily.

The large creature roared loudly, shaking the bushland around them and almost knocking them off balance, then launched a Flamethrower at them.

They all scattered to avoid the stream of destruction.

A loud gunshot echoed out. The creature grunted and turned to stare at its left leg in surprise, as a stream of blood suddenly trickled from the bullet wound. It turned at the Spartan, who had his pistol raised towards its head.

"The next one goes between your eyes," he threatened coldly, "if you don't piss off and leave us alone".

There was a tense standoff as the Pokémon and the Spartan stared each other down.

The creature suddenly snarled lowly with a sneer, before turning away and disappearing in amongst the trees.

"What the hell was that?" exclaimed Hawk.

"Buggered if I know," replied Jake, holstering his sidearm, "But hopefully it won't try that again".

The scream of jet engines caught their attention as several Pelicans slowly descended to the ground.

The rear hatches opened up, and several squads of Marines dropped out, armed with a variety of weapons, along with two Warthogs.

Each Marine had a pitch-black phoenix emblazoned on their right shoulder guard.

"Welcome to X-295, people!" said Jake, "Don't worry, I assure you there are still plenty of Covvies to go 'round, so make yourselves comfortable".

A Marine walked up to him with a salute, "Phoenix Company reporting for duty!"

"Righto you lot!" replied Jake, "There are a group of civvies in Saffron City to the East planning to head across to the Johto region west from here. I want them to get there alive, clear?"

"Got it, sir," replied the Marine.

"We're going to clear up the next LZ in preparation for Vulture Company, so we'll probably rendezvous somewhere in Johto".

The Marine nodded, "We'll see you there then".

The Marines all trundled off towards Saffron City, and Hornet Squad headed on towards Lavender Town.

...

"Are we all ready to go?" asked Officer Jenny.

Everyone nodded.

"Then this is the plan so far: Using Saffron as a hub, we will organise teams to search each city around us for survivors. Namely, Cerulean City, Celadon City and Vermillion City. After that, we will go to Fuchsia City, where we will take a boat to Cinnabar Island. Next, we will head up north to Viridian City, stopping in at Pallet Town along the way. From Viridian, we will send a team to search out Pewter City, and then when they come back we'll cross over to Johto. Does everyone understand so far?"

No one said anything.

"Well, I know the plan, so that's all that matters now," she continued, "So without further ado, here's our first plan of action. Misty and Sabrina will go to Cerulean, Brock and Gary will go to Celadon, and Ben and Ash will go to Vermillion. There won't be a group out to Lavender, since it has been established that everyone there perished. Everyone else, hold tight for now and wait for their return. We're leaving as soon as the last group gets back. Clear?"

Everyone looked about at each other with nervous tension.

"Then let's get to it! We'll be waiting here for your return, so good luck!"

Ash turned towards Him, "So...we're going to be teaming up, eh? Then let's give it our all and rescue Vermillion City!"

He nodded in reply.

Gary and Brock shook hands, "Let's try to get out in one piece, eh?"

Brock nodded, "It'll be very dangerous, so let's take this with utmost caution with this".

Misty turned to Sabrina worriedly, "I hope my sisters are alright".

"Don't worry," she replied gently, "We'll find them and get them to safety".

"ODST," called Jenny, "Is there anything we should know about how to go about these missions? Any advice on how to survive...?"

"Actually yes, there is," He replied, turning towards the others, "Stay low, and use buildings and trees for cover, don't attract _ANY_ attention at all to yourselves, only engage in fights if there is literally no other option, and whatever you do, for the love of God, _don't get killed_. That is all".

The pairs filed outside, saying a last "good luck", and going their respective ways.

Shortly after they disappeared, the Marines of Phoenix Company burst through the eastern gatehouse.

"Stick together, Marines," said the commander, "Call out any Covvies you see, and keep an eye out for the civilians".

The Warthogs rolled slowly alongside the column of Marines as the turret gunners rotating about cautiously.

"We got movement on the Scanner up ahead!" called a Marine.

"Hostiles?" asked the commander.

"Unlikely sir, they're not going anywhere. Covenant would've picked us up a while ago and engaged us if that was the case," she replied.

"True... Approach with caution and watch for an ambush".

A squad of Marines all held their guns pointed towards the entrance as they rapidly approached.

Officer Jenny poked her head out of the doorway just as a Marine was about to perform a breaching manoeuvre. The Marine couldn't react fast enough as he accidently rammed his Assault Rifle in Jenny's face with a sickening _crunch_.

"Agh! Son of a _BITCH_!" she yelled furiously, clutching her face, "What the hell, man?"

"Oh shit! Sorry about that! Are you alright?" he asked apologetically.

Jenny withdrew her hand as blood trickled from her nose, "Do I look alright? You broke my nose, you friggin' klutz!"

The Marine slapped his Assault Rifle across his back and reached for his pocket, producing a small rag. She snatched it from his hand and pressed it against her face.

"So... you guys must be the reinforcements the Spartan was talking about?" she asked, trying to regain some sense of professionalism.

"That's right," he replied, "We've been asked to provide escort for your group as they move about".

"Well, we could use the help," said Jenny, "Everyone's in here, and we have 3 small teams out searching for other survivors. Hopefully they won't take too long. You didn't miss them leaving by much, so you still might be able to catch up to them. One group went north; another west and the third went south".

The Marine nodded, "Alright, we'll dispatch squads to follow and keep an eye on them," He turned to the commander walking up to them, "Right boss?"

"Affirmative," confirmed the commander, "2nd Platoon, follow the northern-bound group. 1st Platoon, you're going west, and 4th Platoon, you're going south. 3rd Platoon, hold the fort here".

The Marines all nodded and got to business.

...

**Up north...**

Misty swallowed a lump in her throat as she approached Cerulean City's southern entrance, with Sabrina close behind.

"Don't worry," said Sabrina, "The Pokémon Centres and the Gyms in major cities all around the world are built like fortresses, Cerulean included. They were originally intended to protect people in case of a Pokémon like a Legendary going on a destructive rampage, and keep those inside safe from harm, but it's highly likely that they will be more than a tough nut to crack for the aliens and their weapons. If your sisters usually spend most of their time in the Gym, I can assure you their safety".

A noise behind them startled them, causing them to freeze.

They turned as soldiers with guns approached them from behind in complete silence.

"Uh...who are you?" asked Misty.

"Don't worry," said a Marine, "We're here to help you with your mission".

Sabrina stared at them for a short period of time, then nodded, "I'm glad to have you with us. We could use the extra help".

"I'm Sergeant Fredrickson," the Marine extended his hand, "Leader of 2nd Platoon, Phoenix Company".

Sabrina shook his hand, "I'm Sabrina, and this is Misty".

Fredrickson turned to his platoon, "Alright people, let's do this! Sabrina, after you".

They all silently moved towards the Pokémon Centre. The building was looking worse for wear, with broken windows, signs of plasma fire and a small inferno raging inside.

Misty's stomach churned violently, "I highly doubt we'll find anyone alive in there".

Sabrina closed her eyes, concentrating her telekinetic powers on the building, searching for signs of life.

Something caught her attention. A small wail of despair.

_That was it_, she snapped alert, "There's someone in there, alive. Let's check it out".

She rushed towards the building.

Movement caught Fredrickson's eye to the left.

The muzzle of a weapon poked through a hole in a ruined building.

"Sabrina, STOP! It's a trap!" he yelled.

A high-pitched whistle rang out. Sabrina grunted as she jumped forwards inside the Pokémon Centre.

"Sabrina! Are you alright?" yelled Misty.

Sabrina cringed as she clutched the back of her neck, "Ugh, I think it's only a flesh wound, nothing too serious".

"Marines, get off the road!" yelled Fredrickson, causing his team to scatter for cover.

Four Marines ran towards a ruined house, jumping the levelled wall.

"OH SHI-"

A mix of plasma fire and gunfire rang out, followed by screaming, Human and Covenant alike. Two Marines jumped back over the wall.

"We've got company!" yelled one.

"And two men down!" yelled the other.

As the Marines all stormed buildings for cover, they all encountered Covenant hiding in ambush.

A bitter firefight quickly broke out.

Fredrickson quickly pulled Misty behind him and barged in amongst some ruins.

He spotted four Grunts jump from behind cover.

He shot them all in quick succession with his Battle Rifle.

Loud roars emanated from nearby.

"Watch out!" yelled a voice, "We got some Brutes joining the party!"

"Alakazam!" yelled Sabrina, producing a Poke Ball, "Let's do this!"

Alakazam appeared in a red flash. "Kazaam..."

"Use Psychic on the Aliens!" she commanded.

"Kazaam..." the Pokémon's eyes glowed blue, and then a blue aura surrounded the Brutes, stopping them in their tracks.

"Fuck 'em up good!" yelled a Marine, opening fire on one.

Immobilised, the Brutes could only roar in agony as the Marines shot them to ribbons.

"I don't know what just happened," Fredrickson stared in awe, "But it'd be mighty helpful if you did that more often".

Sabrina nodded, "Just doing what we can to help".

The remaining Covenant stared in fear and surprise at the Psychic-Type in the Pokémon Centre, backing away slowly, before turning into a full retreat.

"Let 'em go!" said Fredrickson, "Status report!"

The Marines all gathered in the Pokémon Centre. Five soldiers carried a wounded comrade with them.

"We've got two confirmed dead and five wounded, sir," said a Marine, "Everyone else is accounted for".

Fredrickson sighed, "Let's just continue the search and get out of here".

Sabrina walked deeper into the building. "I felt something hiding behind a piece of fallen rubble..."

She spotted a collapsed piece of roof blocking a door.

"In here," she beckoned.

Fredrickson and a Marine cleared it away with a heave, and Sabrina opened the door.

A small voice screamed in surprise.

She looked to see a young boy cringing in the corner.

He cowered away briefly, before recognising the Psychic Gym Leader.

"...M-Miss Sabrina?" he asked nervously.

"The one and only," she replied gently, crouching down, "Don't worry; we're here to get you out of here".

The boy slowly stood up and brushed himself off before walking towards her, rubbing his eye, "I...I don't want to die..."

"Shhh," she whispered, pulling the boy into a hug, "It's alright now. You're safe with us, okay?"

The boy nodded, returning the embrace.

The Marines looked around, wary for another attack.

"Let's move on," beckoned Fredrickson, "This place is giving me the creeps".

With the boy still in her arms, Sabrina turned and led them to the Gym.

The Marines formed a defensive circle as Misty fumbled through her pockets for the keys.

She produced a small silver key and opened the lock.

Two Marines forced the unresponsive automatic doors open as the rest of them rushed inside.

There was no-one there. Not alive, anyway. The pool was completely empty, save for a small mound of corpses carelessly stacked in the middle. There were blood stains everywhere, and the gut-wrenching smell caused Misty to throw up. She was utterly horrified, to say the least.

"Now that's a scene I've seen far too often for my liking," remarked Fredrickson grimly, "They don't usually bother with burying their victims, preferring to leave their handiwork in the open for all to see, those shameless bastards".

Misty recognised several of her Gym subordinates, unable to speak at the butchery.

The little boy shied away from the scene, hugging his face into Sabrina's leg.

Sabrina sighed, "There's obviously nothing left here. Let's go".

They filed out of the Gym dejectedly.

As they walked, Misty finally spoke up, "Before we leave... there is one more thing I want to check out before we leave for good".

They followed her north to a bridge crossing a small river. Across the bridge, the path turned right towards a small bluff with a view. Up on the bluff was a house nearby the cliff.

Misty slowly walked up to the edge, looking about at the view. Columns of smoke rose in the distance.

She turned when she heard a click behind her.

A young man peered out of the house. "...Misty!" he exclaimed.

She struggled to remember him. "...Sorry, who are you again?"

The man stepped outside into full view.

He was about average height with a thin build, brown eyes and brown hair.

"Bill, the famous researcher and inventor," He said, "Remember?"

Misty stared hard.

"...Nope".

"Don't you remember? You and your 'boyfriend of the week' used to come past here all the time".

"...Still no bells ringing," she shook her head.

"You stole one of my Eevees so you could have a Vaporeon," he said flatly.

"...Oh I remember now!"

"No you don't," he facepalmed.

"Yeah, I don't," she slouched over.

"Anyway, how are things with you these days?" Bill asked politely.

"...What".

"You know, I haven't seen you around here for a while. How are you?"

"... Have you been living under a friggin' _ROCK_ up here?" she exclaimed, "Our planet has been invaded by _ALIENS_ for Arceus' sake! Everyone's getting _killed_!"

"Well now that you mentioned it, yes I have noticed a few... _interesting_ visitors," he pondered.

"Interesting? How can you call a bunch of murderous _MONSTERS_ interesting?"

"Well, they're actually quite open to conversation once you get to know them," he shrugged.

"Wait...what?" she blinked.

"Isn't that right...fellas?" he casually turned to his right. Misty felt her blood go cold as she turned left.

A horde of Covenant had clambered up the cliff-face and caught Sabrina and the Marines by surprise, surrounding them.

"Drop your weapons, vermin!" growled a Brute.

"...You fucking traitor," was all Misty could splutter as Jackals formed a circle around her.

"Meh," he shrugged, "Instead of killing me outright, they were willing to barter me down for my humanity in exchange for a few little tips and secrets".

"You didn't!" she exclaimed.

"But I did," Bill smiled smugly, "I'm sorry, but that's the way things roll".

"You do realize they're going to kill you once you're useless to them, right?" asked Fredrickson.

"No skin off my back," he shrugged, "We're all going to die someday anyway. It's just a matter of when, how and what you're remembered for afterwards".

"You'll be remembered as a traitorous bastard," Sabrina spat venomously.

"Not my issue," Bill hand-waved, "Not like I'll be able to care anyway".

"Enough talking!" roared a Brute, "We have work to do!"

The Covenant disarmed the Marines of their weapons and grenades before leading them all away.

A Jackal shoved its Needle Rifle in Misty's back. "Move forward!" it screeched in a strange accent.

Misty gave Bill once last death-glare before turning and walking off with the others. Bill simply turned and walked back inside, closing the door behind him.

...


	10. The Misadventure of Bill

CHAPTER 10

The procession of Covenant soldiers and their captives marched back towards Cerulean City.

"I don't like the look of this," muttered Fredrickson, "The Covvies never take prisoners. Something must be up with them".

Misty was quivering with anger, "That bastard Bill! I'll never forgive him for this!"

As they crossed the bridge, a Phantom hovered ominously at the end.

As they passed underneath, the ventral hatch opened up, and they felt a strong tugging sensation as they were pulled up by the tractor beam. Misty looked about the interior, noting the theme of the colour purple.

The Phantom shifted across the river below to a small cliff face on the other side. There was a cave entrance in the cliff face, guarded by two Jackals.

The Covenant forced their captives one by one to jump back down. Misty was hesitant, scared of the long drop. A Brute huffed and pushed her down. She screamed as she was caught by the tractor beam, which lowered her gently to the ground.

The Covenant forced their captives into the cave.

As they were led further in, Misty looked around at the hordes of Covenant perched around on the walls and ledges, staring at them as they passed. Flame torches lit the way as they came to a small creek. The Covenant had set up make-shift bridges out of fallen tree logs.

After what seemed like an endless maze of passages and rooms, the Covenant finally dumped the captives in a secure cavern. As the captors left, they rolled a large boulder behind them, blocking the exit. The soldiers all settled down around the room, muttering to each other. A soft whimper suddenly drew their attention to the back corner of the cavern. A Flareon, an Umbreon and a Glaceon were huddled up together with frightened expressions on their faces. They had tight collars around their necks, and there were various cuts and scratches covering their bodies.

"The poor things..." murmured Misty.

Sabrina crouched and slowly approached them, holding her hand out while whispering something indecipherable under her breath.

The three Eeveelutions seemed to settle down, and accepted Sabrina's presence. She slowly rubbed the backs of their necks. Within moments, they were all making a soft purring noise.

"You seem to have a way with animals," Fredrickson commented.

"Being a Gym Leader requires you to be able to do this sort of thing. Assisting and helping Pokémon is a part of what helps us to co-exist with them so effectively here," replied Sabrina, "A bond that the Aliens will probably never truly understand".

Misty soon joined in Sabrina's pet-fest. She crouched down and started stroking Flareon's back. The Flame Pokémon responded by cuddling into her. Almost instantly, she noticed how warm Flareon was.

The other Eeveelutions huddled up to Misty as well, rubbing their faces against her.

"Now _you_ seem to be the Dr Doolittle here," cracked a Marine. The other Marines all glared at him. "Yeah, not cool," he shrunk away.

"The Aliens must be planning to use them for some sort of research project," Sabrina mused, "Being a newly-encountered group of creatures for them, they'd want to know everything they can about them".

"But why _BILL_ of all people?" asked Misty, "He's an inventor and a technician, not a Professor!"

"Perhaps his knowledge about how to operate the PC system is valuable to them," suggested Sabrina.

"When we next get a chance, maybe we can ask him," said Fredrickson, cracking his knuckles.

Sure enough, the boulder suddenly rolled to the side with a low rumble, and Bill himself stepped inside.

"You have twenty minutes, vermin," growled the Jiralhanae moving the boulder back in place.

"Speaking of the Devil..." muttered a Marine.

Bill bowed his head sheepishly, "I bet you have quite a few questions to ask".

"Damn straight we do!" Misty shot to her feet in a flash, "What the Hell is going on here?"

"I can explain everything," he raised his hands defensively, "Just calm down, and I'll begin".

"This'd better be good..." she muttered under her breath.

...

**Several hours earlier...**

Bill stared in horror from the window as hordes of Phantoms dropped from the Covenant Battle Cruiser in orbit above.

He could see as they started killing the helpless civilians in the City, and could hear and feel the rumble of explosions and gunfire.

Almost instantly, his brain kicked into survival mode.

He ran to the transporter at the back of the room and started typing calculations into his computer. He gambled that if he was able to replicate the time he accidently turned himself into a Clefairy, he'd be able to hide and survive amongst the Pokémon.

He double-checked to make sure everything was the same as they were on the day, and then pulled a Poke-ball from his pocket, releasing a Flareon.

"Listen up buddy," He crouched down, "What I want you to do is to just stand in the capsule, and I'm going to perform a little experiment".

Flareon was accustomed to Bill's more scientific antics, so it just nodded and went with the flow.

When it was in position, he pressed the timer button and scrambled into the other capsule. When a random Clefairy wandered in through his open door and into a machine, the machine transformed Bill into one as well when he triggered it. He figured the results would be no different if the Pokémon in question was one of his favourites: an Eeveelution.

The two sat in silent anticipation as the timer beeped towards zero.

There was a loud click, and everything went white in a bright flash, then it went black.

...

"Ugh..." Bill groaned as he came round. He jolted alert when He saw an alien, staring straight at him.

He scrambled backwards up against the wall. "P-p-p-please don't kill me!" he stammered.

At least that's what he tried to say. What actually came out of his mouth was a series of whimpers and yelps.

"Dumb animal," the alien muttered and wandered off, "Where are the Humans? They're hiding around here somewhere...!"

He sighed in relief, and then realised that the experiment worked. He checked himself in the shiny surface of his machine, and saw a Flareon staring straight back at him. The real Flareon stared at him incredulously.

"Heh, it worked buddy!" He said cheerfully, "I'm one of you now!"

Flareon blinked, still not sure what to make of it.

"Now let's get out here before-"

A loud scream rang out.

"What the heck? I don't remember anyone else being in my house," Bill frowned.

"You've been out cold for at least twenty minutes," said Flareon.

"Hey, I can understand you know! What a bonus!" Bill's eyes widened.

Flareon facepaw'd (if that's even a word...), "Idiot..."

They turned and watched as a Jiralhanae dragged five screaming girls from Bill's basement, all begging to be left alive. He instantly recognised three of them as Misty's older sisters: Daisy, Violet and Lily.

Bill almost instantly sobered up, "Oh shit".

"The aliens are going to kill them!" Flareon growled, "If you're going to be one of us Bill, you have to be prepared to fight for the safety of the Humans. Let's get 'em!"

"Wait, what?" Bill went white as Flareon launched a Flamethrower at the aliens. They all jumped about in surprise to avoid the deadly stream of fire, which slammed into Bill's working desk and destroyed it. Bill cringed, "There goes several year's work to Hell".

"Move!" Flareon yelled as it ran off.

Bill stared like a deer caught in a truck's headlights as a hail of plasma fire hurtled his way.

"BILL!" Flareon screamed as the bolts struck their mark.

Bill cringed... and then felt nothing. He looked up. The Aliens made confused looks at him.

He noticed he was surrounded by a red aura, and suddenly felt a surge of energy.

Flareon realised what was going on. "That's our Flash Fire ability!" it said, "Your body has simply absorbed the green stuff and used it to make you stronger! But how? That certainly was not a Fire-Type attack..."

"That's because that's all Plasma is: a molten-hot, concentrated burst of energy," He said in a flash of inspiration, "So technically, their plasma weapons will act exactly the same as a Fire-Type attack!"

"...What?" Flareon stared at him with a confused expression, not quite understanding the concept.

"The green stuff. It's called Plasma," he said flatly.

"Oh".

He noticed the girls huddled in the corner, watching the spectacle in fear, then turned to his companion, "You're going to have to give a crash course in battling".

"Moves are complicated sequences that aren't mastered instantly," replied Flareon, "For now, just tackle them with all your might".

"But... I'm not exactly the sporty type..." Bill cringed sheepishly.

"That was when you were a Human, but you're one of us now, so you are much stronger than you probably realise," Flareon replied calmly, "Trust me on that".

Bill just sighed, steeling himself up, "Alright... let's give it a go".

"I'll cover you with Flamethrower, you just smash 'em up good! Ram them with your head in a Headbutt attack, or Bite them as hard as you can, are simple enough but effective methods!" Flareon told him.

Bill found his grip, and then started running.

The Kig-Yar in his sights raised its shield and started shooting erratically at him.

Each shot that struck him simply gave him another burst of energy as he lowered his head and rammed into the shield at full pelt.

The two went flying backwards and landed on the floor with a thud, rolling about, kicking and biting each other in a fury.

Bill sunk his teeth in the bird-like creature's neck in a Bite attack, snapping it. He tasted blood, and by golly it tasted like shit.

Flareon attacked a Brute in a similar manner, using Fire Fang instead of Bite. The Brute punched it across the face, sending it flying clean through a wall on the far side of the room with a crash.

Bill turned to see another Brute ram its foot square in his gut, launching him into the air and slamming into a control panel, before stopping at the door of the transporter.

He struggled to pick himself up as the machine whirred to life again.

"Oh shit-"

A bright flash lit up, and everything went white, and then black again.

...

Flareon stumbled back inside just as Bill was reverted back to Human form.

The Covenant stared incredulously at the unconscious man lying in front of them, and then started to closely scrutinise the machine.

"This human possesses the power to transform a creature into a different one without any negative fluctuations..." a Jiralhanae murmured, "Imagine what we could do with such power..."

"Since this human is the only one capable of operating this machine, I say we keep him alive for the time being," another one motioned, "and maybe he can teach us how to use it, and then we can kill him".

Its comrades seemed to agree with this plan of action, before realising Flareon was back in the room.

"Get... away... from... MY FRIEND!" it growled.

Of course, that's not what they heard, but that didn't really matter as they scrambled out of the way of a large Fire Blast attack that caught them off guard.

Two Kig-Yar were struck by the inferno star and burned alive. The other Covenant roared in fury and became bent on finishing the pest once and for all. They all pounced on the hapless Eeveelution and pounded the hell out of it to a battered pulp.

They then turned to the girls in the corner, who had witnessed the entire event.

"In order to fully understand how this machine operates," said a Brute, "We should practise on these vermin".

It rammed its Plasma Rifle into Bill's side, jolting him awake.

"Get up vermin," it growled.

Bill looked to see he was human again, "Oh Arceus, Please don't kill me!"

The Brute spat, "Don't worry. Your demise is not yet due. First, we have a few things to talk about..."

...

**In the Present...**

"After that, I was forced to transform the girls into Pokémon. The Flareon is Daisy, the Umbreon is Lily and Violet is the Glaceon," said Bill solemnly.

"That's why they like you so much, Misty," realised Sabrina.

Misty just shook her head, "I can't believe they'd do this to you... where are the other two girls?"

"They were uncooperative, to say the least," replied Bill, "so they were shot in cold blood as a persuasion for the other three. It worked".

"And what became of the real Flareon?" asked Sabrina.

"She's somehow still alive. They're using her as a clone source. Now that they're sure of how my machine functions, they'll start using it on their own soldiers".

"But then we won't be able to tell who the real enemy is..." murmured Fredrickson.

"Actually, it'll be pretty easy," said Bill, "They'll all be Eeveelutions marked with a strange tattoo. It isn't very obvious at first, so be careful".

"What does it look like, and where do we find it?" asked a Marine.

"It's kind of like a...well I don't know what it is. But it can generally be found on the backs of their ears. The good thing is, they won't know the first thing about catching more Pokémon, so we can assume that they'll stick with what they have".

"They won't know the first thing about battling in our style either," remarked Misty, "So in theory, we have the advantage".

"For now," Bill murmured grimly, "Until they figure it all out, which they will eventually".

"So where did they get the Eeveelutions anyway?" asked Sabrina.

"They WERE mine," Bill grumbled, "I'm also a Pokefan in my spare time, so collecting rare Pokémon is another hobby of mine. I started with two Eevees, and worked from there, breeding them until I had all 7 Eeveelutions".

"7?" exclaimed Fredrickson, "How does a creature grow into seven different others?"

"Eevees have a rather unstable genetic code," explained Bill, "which means they will undergo metamorphosis, or as we call it on this planet, evolution, and transform into a different creature. An Eevee has seven different options in can evolve into, but it can only evolve once, so once it picks a form, it's stuck like that for the rest of its life. Although I once heard that there was an experiment long ago for an Eevee to be able to change its form at will... but anyway. Eevee has a different set of conditions for each evolution. To get a Flareon for example, you have to expose it to a Fire Stone, and for some reason, its DNA will react to the stone, and long story short, it evolves. There are three Eeveelutions that require a peculiar stone: Flareon, Jolteon and Vaporeon . Sometimes, you have to make the Eevee happy enough, and it will evolve simply because it loves you so much. That's how you get either an Espeon or an Umbreon. The last variation is when the Eevee is in a certain environment, and its body will accustom itself accordingly. In a forest, it will evolve into Leafeon, or in a cold, snowy place, it will turn into Glaceon". He paused to take a breath and to let the information sink in. "I had to start my collection when I was much younger, because Eevees aren't exactly quick breeders. Their reproduction cycle is fairly slow, and the eggs take AGES to hatch".

"...They lay eggs?" Fredrickson raised an eyebrow, "They look like mammals to me".

"All Pokémon lay eggs," replied Bill, "The mammals are just all monotremes".

"...They're what now?"

"Mammals that lay eggs, that's what they're called. Monotremes".

"Uh...huh. By the way, you use the word 'Eeveelution' a lot. What is it?"

"That's just a street term for an evolution of Eevee," replied Bill.

"There's one thing I don't understand," Misty looked at him scrutinisingly, "Why were you acting like such a prick when you betrayed us?"

"Firstly, I didn't betray anyone," Bill defended, "You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. They were lying in wait for stragglers to come looking for shelter, and what they got was a heavily-armed strike team and some Gym Leaders instead. Secondly, I was trying to look tough so they didn't kill me for being weak. I agreed to help them, so I wanted to look good in front of them".

"You were using your house as bait to draw people in!" she said flatly.

"You didn't need to put it _that_ way. Besides, nobody ever comes here anyway. You certainly didn't come here just to look for lil' old me, did you?"

"Well... no..."

"Then there you go! I make my point," he folded his arms triumphantly.

"But you're still working for THEM! That in itself means you've betrayed the entire planet!"

"They would've killed both me and your sisters. Would you prefer that?" he asked.

"No, but-"

"Then that's it. There's nothing more to discuss on that topic. Let's move on".

She grumbled incoherently under her breath.

They all turned when the boulder in the doorway rolled across, and several Kig-Yar strolled in.

"It's time!" one screeched.

They moved to round up the prisoners.

"I think I prefer being a human to be honest," muttered Fredrickson.

A Jackal reached to drag Fredrickson away. Suddenly it was on the floor with a Needler in its face.

It blinked incredulously.

What the others saw, was Fredrickson grab the hapless Kig-Yar by the wrist and flip it over his back, causing it to drop the Needler. He kicked the Needler into the air and rammed it into the creature's face, shooting it at point blank range.

Within seconds, all the other Jackals found themselves in similar postures with Needles between their eyes.

"See if you can remove their shield gauntlets!" said Fredrickson.

Several Marines tried, but to no avail.

Fredrickson shrugged and pulled out his knife.

"You aren't going to cut its arm off, will you?" Bill looked disgusted.

"We need it more than they do," Fredrickson said simply, and then hacked off the Jackal's forearm at the elbow.

He motioned for the other Marines to do the same. Soon, all the Jackals were bereft of a left arm.

They briefly examined the gauntlet's control panel. He pressed a button, and the shield flared to life.

"Alright, you press this one to turn it on," he raised it to show them.

Several other Covenant soldiers marched in, wondering what was going on, and then ducked back out when they were greeted by a hail of Plasma and Needler rounds.

"We're under attack! The prisoners are trying to escape!" they yelled.

The entire base went into a frenzy.

"This is _exactly_ why we don't take prisoners!" a Brute grumbled.

They stormed the makeshift prison block, but were cut down by a fierce volley of plasma fire.

Bill, Misty and the Human Eeveelutions huddled down behind the shield wall of Marines.

Sabrina released Alakazam, and they all engaged in a bitter firefight.

Wave after wave launched their attack, and the constant pressure was having an effect.

"Friggin how many are there?" exclaimed a Marine.

"They just keep coming!"

"We need to get moving!" said Fredrickson, "Form a circle around the others and we'll move as a unit!"

"Yes sir," they replied.

They urged the non-combatanants into the circle, and they slowly shuffled out.

Keeping their heads low, they slowly trudged through a hailstorm of plasma, as the Marines returned fire, until they came to a ladder going up.

Making a defensive circle, the Marines provided cover fire as half of them went up top, followed by their consorts, and then the other half followed behind.

There weren't as many Covenant up here, so they broke formation and dashed for the exit.

Three burly Jiralhanae quickly stepped in the way. "Not so fast there, vermin," they chuckled menacingly.

Misty gulped nervously.

"We'd kill you where you stand, but we have one more... experiment we have to perform," one grunted.

They stepped aside to reveal one of each Eeveelution, making determined stances in the doorway.

"This experiment should, theoretically, come naturally to you," said a Brute, "Pokémon battling, as you call it. We will have ourselves a little contest, us and our Pokémon against you and yours. Your final humiliation shall come when we beat you at your own little game, and then we will either kill you or enslave you for our little army, we haven't quite decided yet".

"What did you tell them about battling?" Misty whispered to Bill.

"Just the basics," he replied sheepishly, "Types and Type advantages, Status ailments, the rules and how battling operates here, nothing too major".

She sighed.

"This battle shall be all-in. Every Pokémon shall be fighting at once," said the Brute with a grin, "Whether you can handle that or not, is too bad. If you win, we'll let you go without any further action. If we win however, you will be enslaved and transformed into Pokémon, where you shall be put on the front lines against the Humans you so love and hold dear. Any disobedience will result in punishment, Jiralhanae style".

Fredrickson looked to Sabrina, "Think you can do it?"

She swallowed a lump in her throat, "I sure hope so. Misty, do you have your team on you at the moment?"

Misty made a sheepish grin, "They're all at the Gym, last time I saw..."

Sabrina facepalmed, "Well that's just perfect..."

Alakazam made a defiant grunt.

"I know you're up to the task," Sabrina laid a hand on the Psychic's shoulder, "but can you take on _seven_ of them at once? Wait, I just had an idea..." She turned away and drifted off into her own thoughts.

Everyone stared at her expectantly. She stood there for a full minute, completely motionless.

"Well? Are we going to begin?" the Brutes became impatient.

Sabrina broke from her train of thoughts, "Yes, We're ready".

Alakazam stepped forward.

"You do realise we said it was 'all-in', right? You _will_ lose," a Brute snorted.

"We shall see," Sabrina made a stance.

"Then let's begin," the Brutes motioned for their team.

The Eeveelutions growled evilly and made unnerving grins.

Alakazam remained stoic.

All at once, the Eeveelutions pounced.

Alakazam disappeared in a bright flash.

They landed in an empty space. They all looked around confused.

Alakazam suddenly appeared behind them, launching a Psywave attack.

Umbreon jumped in front and harmlessly absorbed the attack with a grin.

Jolteon leap-frogged Umbreon and launched a Thunderbolt.

Alakazam reflexively used Light Screen, which absorbed the brunt of the attack.

The Eeveelutions all leap-frogged the other to launch an attack, all of which were severely weakened by Light Screen, limiting the damage they inflicted on the lone Psychic Type.

Alakazam attacked Leafeon with Psychic, but all at once, Umbreon, Flareon and Jolteon threw themselves at it, forcing it to abort and move out of the way.

Alakazam was consistently on the defensive, denied any and all chances for an attack.

There were simply too many of them.

...

Alakazam finally launched a successful attack, hitting the Flareon with a Psywave to the head.

Flareon stumbled back with a growl.

Alakazam paid it no further attention as swerved to avoid Vaporeon's Hydro Pump.

Everyone watched tensely from the sidelines.

"This doesn't look good," murmured Fredrickson, I don't know how much longer your friend can hold out against _seven_ hell-bent opponents".

"Don't worry," Sabrina assured him, "Alakazam has never let me down before. He is not an easy opponent to defeat".

The twisted Eeveelutions were becoming frustrated as to how long this was taking, as well the Brutes also watching.

A large crowd of Covenant soldiers had also gathered around, and were watching the spectacle with interest.

An impatient Brute raised his Spiker to simply shoot the Alakazam, but the leader stopped it.

"Don't! If we kill it, we cannot credit it to the new team. They must be able to win under their own efforts".

"As much as I see the logic in that, they are clearly lacking in proficiency! They should've won before this even _began_!" the other countered.

"Let's just remain patient and see. The others are clearly enjoying the spectacle anyway".

Alakazam was tiring out quickly. Constantly dodging and blocking was having a toll. If any one of its opponents could land a successful hit, it was curtains.

Umbreon slipped away as Leafeon launched a Razor Leaf. Alakazam easily defended against the attack, but didn't see the Lunar Pokemon sneak up behind it. Umbreon jumped on its back and sunk its teeth into the Psychic Type's neck.

Alakazam kicked and struggled frantically, but the end was nigh.

As Umbreon held it in place, Glaceon launched an Ice Beam, hitting its mark dead on.

Umbreon released its hold, and Alakazam's limp form slumped to the floor.

The Covenant all turned to the Humans with evil grins.

"Shit..." cursed Fredrickson, "and we were _so_ close to the exit as well..."

Sabrina glanced once more outside. The light rays gleamed in through the doors, until a Brute blocked the path.

"As you humans say: 'So close, but no cigar'!" it chuckled.

Sabrina shot it a glare, "...You will regret ever coming here and doing this. Mark my words, you will all pay. Eventually".

Several Covenant roared with laughter. "Heh heh heh, I highly doubt that'll be anytime soon, vermin! You just keep dreaming!" chuckled a Brute, "Now if you'll just come along quietly..."

The Marines swiftly made a defiant circle around Sabrina, Misty, Bill and Misty's sisters.

"Marines, cover your eyes!" yelled Fredrickson.

All the Marines quickly donned a pair of sunglasses as Fredrickson pulled something from his belt.

The Brute looked confused, "What-"

"We'll see you lot in Hell!"

He slammed the object against the ground, and everything went white.

...

**A/N: I've got mid-year exams coming up next week, so wish me luck!**


	11. Electric Shock BeatDown

**It's been a while since I updated this, eh? I'm thankful for the positive feedback so far. To be honest, I'm my own biggest critic. I often look back on some of the previous chapters and think "yeah, that probably could have been done better". **

**Ah well.**

**To KGIrishNinja (if you're still bothering to read this)... Don't worry. I'll leave the 4****th**** wall alone from now on... **

**So without further ado...**

CHAPTER 11

Erika hummed quietly to herself, somehow remaining serene and calm as an angry horde of Covenant soldiers pounded on the Gym doors, desperate to get in and kill the Humans inside.

The Grass-Type Specialist Gym Leader was neatly trimming a hedge as her employees rushed about frantically, most of them either preparing a defence, panicking in hysteria, or simply waiting for the end. One of them ran up to her, "What are we going to do ma'am? The aliens are almost through our door and you don't even care?! How can you remain calm in a situation like this?"

Erika turned to the girl, smiling cheerfully, "Don't worry, we still have a short while before they break through. Until then, here's what we're going to do..."

...

Gary and Brock slowly cautiously approached Celadon City. It was pretty obvious that the Covenant had reached it first, as several Phantoms hovered menacingly overhead, dropping troops in amongst the buildings. They could hear the sound of plasma guns and screams amidst explosions and general anarchy.

Gary breathed a heavy sigh. "I hope we know what we're doing," he said nervously.

Brock pulled a Poke ball from his pocket, "You know, I highly doubt we'll be able to do this quietly. C'mon out, Onix!"

The big, grey snake emerged in a bright flash, emitting a low, rumbling growl.

"We've been asked to do a job," said Brock, "and I intend to get as many people out of here as I possibly can. But I won't be able to do it without your help, Gary".

Gary sighed, nodding softly, "We came this far. It's probably too late to turn around now. Let's do this, Growlithe!"

The Puppy Pokémon appeared in a bright flash by Gary's side.

They shook hands, and turned towards the city.

...

"Is everything set?" Erika asked, walking the length of a makeshift wall about a metre high, ignoring the loud crashing sounds of the Covenant trying to barge their way in.

The Gym assistants huddling behind it all nodded in unison, shuddering in nervousness.

"Relax," Erika reassured them, "Stick to the plan, and we'll win this, okay?"

Another loud crash shook the building, and the front door seals started to crack.

"Alright everyone," she shouted, releasing several Pokémon from their Poke Balls in quick succession, "Let's do this!"

A Shiftry, a Victreebel, a Roserade, a Bellossom and a Tangrowth all appeared in rapid order.

"Bellossom, use Sunny Day!" she ordered.

"Bell-ossom!" it replied in a high-pitched voice, forming a bright orb in its stubby arms. It thrusted the orb into the air, and it hovered up near the roof. The building suddenly became brighter as the trainers reached for their sunglasses. The temperature became unbearably hot as well.

"Get ready..."

Another loud crack jolted the doors slightly.

"Take aim..."

With an almighty effort, the doors suddenly blew apart, and the hordes of Covenant soldiers swarmed in.

Erika grinned, "Wait for it..."

All at once, there was a bright purple flash as rows of large spikes of energy shot up from the floor, stabbing the Covenant troops from beneath.

"Good old Toxic Spikes," she mused to herself, "Never fails".

The Covenant was caught off guard as the toxic venom took hold of them.

"FIRE!" yelled Erika.

All at once, a large broadside of Solarbeams, Leaf Storms, Energy Balls and the like shot across the gap between the two forces, slamming into the crowd of disoriented invaders, triggering a series of massive explosions that shook the foundations to their cores. The first wave had been promptly annihilated.

"Phase Two!" Erika commanded, "Gas masks on!"

The Gym assistants quickly scrambled to comply.

The Jiralhanae Commander, watching from the gunner position on a Wraith, stared in shock at the swift destruction of his initial assault, before grunting in anger, "Wave Two, attack!"

With the doors wide open, there was nothing stopping another swarm of soldiers from charging at the Human defences. They simply rushed in, firing at random as they went.

"Sleep Powder!" yelled Erika as they all ducked behind the wall.

Several Pokémon released a large cloud of green pollen, which drifted over towards the gathering crowd of Covenant troops.

The aliens paused as the cloud gathered around them and drifted out the open entrance.

"W-What's this?!" the Commander asked hesitantly, unsure of what to make of it.

He received his answer when large scores of his troops started slumping over flat on their faces.

"What's going on?!" He became frantic.

The Humans peered back over the wall.

"Take Aim!" said Erika.

The Commander's eyes widened.

"FIRE!"

There was nothing stopping the second barrage from ripping into the crowd of drowsy aliens, quickly dispatching them also.

The Commander grit his teeth in fury, "ENOUGH OF THIS! Attack with the Mortars!"

A Wraith gathered at the entrance.

"Oh dear," Erika's face went whiter than normal.

"Smite them!" the Commander grinned maliciously.

The main cannon on the Wraith opened fire, and a large blue bolt of plasma hurtled straight towards them, culminating in a gigantic explosion that ripped the roof of the building clean off, kicking dust, smoke and fire everywhere. The Wraith quickly scuttled backwards to avoid being caught in its own blast.

The Commander started laughing, "So much for the Human Resistance! We should have done that from the beginning!"

A beam of yellow energy suddenly shot from out of the clouds, slamming into the Wraith and punching clean through it. The tank exploded in a fantastic blue fireball.

"WHAT?!" The Commander roared, "Impossible!"

As the dust and smoke cleared, it revealed a very much alive line of Humans. Several of the Pokémon were holding up large green barriers, protecting their fellow associates. Victreebel stood nearby Erika, its mouth noticeably emitting steam from its attack. The surrounding area however, was reduced to rubble.

_That was close_, thought Erika, _the Protect barriers were barely able to hold together. If they launch another attack like that, we're done for_.

Several Gym members, frightened out of their wits from the whole ordeal, broke rank and fled for the back door.

As they reached to open it, the door suddenly burst open, and several Jackals swooped in for the easy kill.

Everyone turned about, startled as the Jackals opened fire, felling several more people as well as their Pokémon in quick succession.

A vicious, all-or-nothing brawl quickly ensued as the Pokémon rushed to protect their trainers. Both sides traded barrages as they closed in, before engaging in close combat.

"Quickly!" Erika ushered her subordinates, "We're getting out of here!"

"But what about the Pokémon?!" asked a Gym member, "We can't just leave them there to die!"

A Wraith ominously stared inside the building, the turret gunner primed and ready to fire.

"It's too late!" Erika urged, "There's nothing we can do! We have to go NOW!"

"But..." the member began to protest.

"I'm not having ANY of my associates killed on me!" Erika raised her voice fiercely, "I'm upset that it has come to this as well, but if we don't leave, their sacrifice will be for nothing!"

The Jackals started pulling back to avoid the oncoming storm.

"Like rats in a trap!" the Commander snarled, "Destroy them once and for all!"

The Uggnoy on the turret pulled the trigger, unleashing a relentless barrage of plasma that ripped into the ranks of helpless Gym members and Humans alike.

Nobody noticed the large boulder hurling in from the Wraith's 3 o'clock position.

The boulder flew straight and true, slamming into the tank and crushing the occupants.

The Commander almost blew his top in fury, "What in the Prophet's name is that now?!"

"Good shot, Onix!" Brock congratulated. The big snake grunted in appreciation.

The Commander spotted the new entrants about fifty metres away, standing amongst a forest of large trees.

The driver pivoted the tank around to get a shot, when Gary's Growlithe sprinted forward, fangs aflame for the kill.

The Commander grinned and opened up with the cannon, striking the relatively easy target, "Stupid creature! You should've thought twice before- WHAT?!"

Growlithe snarled as its Flash Fire ability kicked in, harmlessly absorbing the plasma rounds and boosting its power. It leaped up on the tank and sunk its teeth in the Commander's arm.

The Jiralhanae shook it about furiously as the flames proceeded to take effect. Growlithe released its grip and jumped backwards, launching a Flamethrower at the Brute's face and burning it to a cinder, boiling it alive.

The Wraith driver hit the boost accelerator, charging straight at the trainers, intending to road-kill them.

Onix quickly moved in front, causing the driver to violently swerve aside to avoid a collision, throwing Growlithe off in the process.

Gary jumped onboard as the tank went past, holding onto the rim of the gun turret for support. The driver opened its hatch, reaching up to grab the pest on top.

"Get 'im, Growlithe!" Gary yelled.

Growlithe jumped back up, sinking its teeth into the hapless Brute's head.

"Fire Fang!" Gary grinned.

Growlithe's teeth ignited, super-heating the Brute's head in an instant.

The body slumped forwards against the controls, causing the Wraith to accelerate forwards.

"Bail out!" Gary released his grip and fell off, with Growlithe following close behind.

The tank meandered forward and lodged itself between two trees.

Brock and Gary then faced down the remaining Covenant forces. With all three Wraiths and a considerable bulk of their forces gone, their confidence had been violently shaken.

A Jiralhanae stepped forward, "We will not let this setback affect us! Destroy these pests once and for all, if it's the last thing we do!"

The Covenant growled and attacked, splitting themselves up between Erika's survivors and the newcomers.

"Come on out Wartortle, Nidorina, and Graveller !" Gary released the respective Pokémon into the fray.

"We have to lure more of the aliens towards us!" Brock said anxiously, "Otherwise, those still alive in the Gym will be wiped out! Onix, use Rock Slide!"

Onix gathered up several more large boulders and began meticulously hurling them at any random alien it saw, often taking out several at a time with one hit.

"Graveller, use Rollout!" exclaimed Gary.

Graveller promptly curled itself up into a ball and charged forward, heedless of whatever unlucky bastard was in the way, leaving a path of carnage in its wake.

The Covenant momentarily withdrew to reform their lines.

"This isn't working!" The next in charge became exasperated, "These blasted 'Pokeymon' or whatever they're called are proving a serious challenge! Not only are they annoying to bring down, no matter how many of them we kill, there are always more to replace the fallen!"

"Retreat!" someone yelled out.

A panic suddenly gripped the Covenant formation. 'Retreat' was a word very rarely used in their vocabulary.

"NO! No retreat!" The Brutes shouted, "We are taking this vermin down with us if we have to!"

As confusion reigned supreme, the survivors from the Gym burst through the Covenant lines and dashed to meet up with Brock and Gary.

Brock quickly held a handkerchief to his nose as they approached.

"Get us out of here!" several members screamed hysterically.

"With pleasure," Gary muttered, returning his team to their respective Poke Balls.

"Oh? Have you got a cold or something?" Erika asked Brock.

"Uh...," Brock stuttered nervously, "...Yes. Let's put it that way".

"They're getting away!" a Brute roared, "After them!"

The Covenant charged after their retreating foes, shooting at them as they ducked amongst the trees for cover.

A plasma shot whizzed past Brock's head, causing him to turn and see where that came from.

The Gym members struggled to keep up, and several were being picked off at leisure.

"This has become a rout," He muttered angrily.

Suddenly he ran straight into a large object, knocking the wind out of him.

"Agh! What the heck..?!" He turned to see a parked vehicle. With a large machine gun mounted on the back.

Dozens of loud gunshots erupted around them as the Covenant suddenly found themselves in an ambush.

The surviving Gym members all dropped to the ground in panic as the large machine gun opened up, spitting death and destruction at the Covenant forces behind them.

"IT'S A TRAP!" a Brute yelled, "Get out of here!"

The aliens pulled back in a hasty, disorganized retreat.

A loud chorus of laughter erupted from the woods around them. Several Gym members squealed in terror.

A large squad of Marines emerged from amongst the trees, wielding a variety of weapons.

A soldier perched in the driver's seat of the Warthog stepped out with a heavy sigh, extending his hand in greeting.

"Lucky you lot ran into us, eh?" he remarked, "Name's Gunnery Sergeant Riley. Consider us your new guardian angels".

"Glad to know," Brock sighed in relief, "We have wounded over here!"

"I'll see what we can do. Parkins, get over here!"

A young woman with a red cross on her left shoulder guard stepped forward, holstering her assault rifle across her backpack, "On it, sir!"

One at a time, she closely examined the state of the survivors.

"It's amazing you people got out of that in one piece," she remarked, "You seem to have luck on your side today".

She turned to the Gunnery Sergeant, "Casualties range from light to heavy injuries. We should be able to ex-fill these people to safety without a hitch, but some of them will need transportation and immediate attention."

"Right," he replied, "Let's get out of here before the Covvies come back and have themselves a refugee stew!"

The group slipped away amongst the trees undisturbed, heading back for Saffron City.

...

_North of Vermillion City_.

Ash kept close to Ben's side, cautious for any attacks. Raichu walked on the other side of him, scanning the small ravine around them. Ben switched his HUD to VISR mode, watching for heat signatures.

Up ahead, a man stepped out of the checkpoint structure. As they drew near, they all sized each other up.

The man was tall and well built, sporting a pair of snazzy sunglasses obscuring his eyes, an olive-green tank top, green camouflage trousers and large, steel-capped boots. Their gazes met when they were only a few metres apart.

"Sorry strangers," the man spoke in a threatening tone, "here is where you stop. Turn around and go back to where you came from now, for your own sake".

"Why?" Ash was perplexed, "We're here to search for survivors of the invasion. We're only here to help!"

"No can do," the man replied, "We have it all under control here. Go away".

"But there's an invasion!" Ash insisted, "If we join together, we can fight back and retake the planet before-"

"I SAID NO!" the man thundered, "If you don't mind, please turn around and leave, NOW!"

Ben frowned in concern, "Is there a particular reason that this is the case? Who's in charge here?"

"I am!" the man replied, "I am Lieutenant Surge, the Gym Leader of Vermillion City, and entry has been forbidden for the time being until the invasion is over! If I have to tell you again, I will use force if necessary!" The man glanced from Pikachu, to Raichu and to the ODST, "I don't care what it takes!"

"You're ex-Marine... aren't you?" asked Ben.

"Who wants to know?" Surge replied.

"I'm sure you're aware of the procedures and protocols during a Covenant invasion?" Ben continued.

"Yes, I am indeed aware," Surge grit his teeth, "So if you don't mind-"

"Then we're coming in whether you like it or not. There must be civvies in there that need evac and..."

Ben paused as a Phantom flew overhead towards the city.

There as an awkward silence.

"Alright! I'll come clean!" Surge sighed, exasperated, "They're holding the city hostage, and I have to keep anybody else from entering or leaving! If I don't, then they're gonna start killing people at random!"

The situation suddenly became clear. "So that's why..." Ash murmured.

Surge lowered his voice, "They have a sniper up on the ridge keeping an eye on me to make sure I co-operate".

Ben considered this for a moment, then pulled the Ultra Ball from his pocket, "Latias! I have a mission for you!"

Latias yawned, "_What's up?_"

"There's an alien sniper on this ridge somewhere," He said , "Go find and dispatch it".

"_Easier done than said_," she replied, turning invisible.

Surge stared at Him blankly, "You caught _Latias_?!"

"Yup."

"Whatever, I'm still not letting you through. Instead, I challenge one of you to a Pokémon battle. If you win, I'll let you in. If I win, you turn your little parade around and don't come back," Surge challenged.

Ash stepped forward, clenching his fist, "Alright! You have yourself a deal! Pikachu, let's do this!"

Pikachu jumped off his shoulder to the ground, "Pika-Pika!"

Surge sneered, producing a Poke Ball from his pocket, "Raichu, show 'em how we roll!"

Surge's Raichu appeared in a bright flash by its trainer's side.

"Sure you don't want me to handle this?" Ben asked tentatively.

Ash frowned determinedly at Pikachu's evolutionary opponent, "... No. I've got this one, thanks".

Ben watched in concern, "...Okay, if you're that confident".

Surge couldn't help but laugh, "You've got guts kid, I'll admit. But your baby Pikachu's way out of its league here!"

Pikachu growled in resentment, taking a step forward.

"As you wish," Surge grinned.

Ben and his Raichu took a step back to provide space as the two opponents sized each other up.

"Alright Pikachu, let's do this! Use Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu tensed as it launched the first strike, hitting its mark dead on, engulfing its opponent in electricity.

Raichu shrugged it off as if nothing happened.

"That's cute," Surge grinned, "Raichu, show 'em a _real_ Thunderbolt!"

Surge's Pokémon replied without hesitation, launching its own Thunderbolt.

Pikachu, to say the least, was blown completely off its feet, sent flying backwards a good ten metres, landing with a hard thud.

"Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed in concern.

"It's still not too late to back out now and let the ODST take over," Surge remarked, "Perhaps he'd provide a better challenge".

Surge's Raichu chuckled maliciously as it approached its fallen opponent.

Ash became anxious, "C'mon Pikachu, get up! We're still in this! There's no backing down!"

Pikachu slowly hauled itself back up, using a rock for support.

"Oh well," Surge shrugged, "Raichu, use Mega Punch, then Mega Kick!"

Raichu grinned and rammed its fist into Pikachu's gut, knocking the wind out of it and sending it a metre or two into the air.

Ben cringed, "This is hopeless. It's not even a battle".

As Pikachu landed again, Raichu didn't hesitate to kick him viciously across the face, sending him rolling across the ground.

Pikachu groaned in agony as it coughed up a tooth and a torrent of blood.

"That's enough!" Ben growled, "Ash, get that poor guy outta there! We're taking over from here!"

Ash quivered in fury, "... Fine".

He dashed over and collected the fallen mouse in his arms.

"That was pathetic. Not even worth calling a fight," Surge grunted, turning towards his new opponents, "Don't disappoint me".

"Oh, I won't," Ben scowled underneath his helmet.

A series of loud hissing noises suddenly echoed up the valley.

"That sounds like a Needle Carbine," Ben noted, "Latias, do your thing!"

He then reached into his pocket, pulling out a thick green piece of silk, and tied it around Raichu's waist.

"This was a good luck charm from my fiancé," He murmured, "It'll help me tell you apart from your opponent".

Both Raichus gave each other icy stares as they slowly began to circle each other.

Latias suddenly appeared by Ben's side, "_Well, we won't hear from him again_".

"Patrol the area and discourage any aliens from getting too close," He instructed.

"_You can count on me!_" she replied cheerfully.

Surge briefly watched her fly off, then turned back to the battle. "Well, we're all warmed up for the main event now! Show us what you've got!"

"After you," He beckoned.

Surge grinned, "Alright then! Raichu, use Mega Punch, then follow up with Mega Kick!"

Surge's Raichu swung wildly at its opponent's head. Raichu calmly blocked the attack with its paws. It then jumped up to avoid a sweep directed at its legs.

"Use Focus Blast," said Ben.

Raichu grabbed its opponent's head and vaulted itself up over the top, pirouetting mid air, and landing behind it. As Surge's Raichu twisted around to punch it, it caught the punch in its left hand and gave its opponent a shove, throwing it backwards several metres.

Raichu quickly formed a ball of energy in its paws as its opponent charged in for another attack.

"Raichu, Don't-!" Surge spluttered.

Too late, as Raichu easily ducked under the swing, and rammed the orb into the opponent's gut in an uppercut fashion.

Surge's Raichu was knocked off its feet, but not out as it stood straight back up.

Surge grinned, "Now _this_ is more like it! Raichu, use Thunderbolt!"

"Quick Attack," Ben countered.

Raichu lunged at its opponent, knocking it off balance and into the turf.

Surge's Raichu kicked backwards, sending its opponent over its head, then quickly jumped up and launched a Thunderbolt in every direction.

Raichu braced as the electricity pounded the surrounding area.

"Tail Whip!" called Surge.

Surge's Raichu pirouetted and slammed the broad, yellow part of its tail across its opponent's face with a resounding _slap_.

"Thunder!" Ben clenched his fist.

Raichu unleashed a powerful burst at point blank range, sending the opponent backwards several metres.

"Another Thunderbolt!" Surge commanded.

"Quick Attack!" said Ben, "Keep the pressure up!"

Raichu quickly zipped to the left to avoid the blast of electricity, before barrelling in and slamming into its opponent in a fierce tackle.

"Mega Punch!" exclaimed Surge.

Surge's Raichu slammed its opponent's jaw with a vicious right hook, and span about to plant a Mega Kick in its gut, launching it backwards a considerable distance.

Surge became ecstatic, "Finish it!"

"Move!" Ben exclaimed.

Raichu clawed frantically into the dirt to drag itself forward to avoid another Mega Kick and hauled itself up. It jumped backwards to avoid a left hook and rammed a Focus Blast into its opponent's face. Both Raichus then paused to catch their breath and wipe a trickle of blood from their face.

Surge grinned, "If this was a Gym battle, I'd say you'd get my badge without a problem. This is quite an exciting fight! So let's finish this now! Raichu, use Thunderbolt once more!"

"Use Volt Tackle!" Ben pointed in the general direction of his opponent.

"Volt tackle?" Surge remarked with surprise, "That's..."

Raichu broke into a sprint. The mouse became engulfed in a powerful burst of electricity as it darted about.

Surge's Raichu's eyes widened in surprise as it hastily launched a Thunderbolt. The electric attack was harmlessly absorbed as Raichu slammed into it at full bore with a sickening _crunch_. They both landed in a heap about four metres from the impact point.

Using the body of its opponent for support, Raichu hauled itself back up in a defiant stance.

Surge's Raichu did not budge an inch.

Surge suddenly noticed a trickle of blood from the back of his Pokémon's head.

"It must've hit its head on a rock," he mused as he recalled the fallen mouse.

"You did it!" Ash exclaimed, "I can't believe it..."

Ben turned a fierce gaze at him, "You're lucky I was here. Your careless mistake very nearly cost us. Surge showed you grace there by allowing us to switch and you know it!"

Ash's face fell, visibly upset by this outburst, "I'm sorry, I had confidence that I could do it..."

"Well..." Ben shrugged, "... learn to pick your battles more carefully next time. Taking care of your team is a big responsibility, and being a proficient leader requires time, experience, a good sense of judgement, and trust in your team".

"But I DO trust my team!" Ash protested.

"That's a good start then," He replied, "Now let's rescue this city, eh?"

Ash nodded, "After you, sir".

...

...


	12. Rescuing Vermillion City

CHAPTER 12

"Alright... let's see what we're dealing with here..." Ben slowly peered around the doorway of the gatehouse in Vermillion City. Ash, Surge and Raichu stood behind him, watching closely with tense anticipation. Latias hovered on the other side, invisible to the naked eye.

"The Covenant are keeping the civilians hostage in the Pokémon Centre," explained Surge, "and they're renovating my Gym to act as a base".

He noticed two large groups of Covenant soldiers: one standing near the pier, led by Brutes, and the other standing outside the Pokémon Centre, led by Elites.

"That's funny, I thought the Elites switched sides..." He muttered in concern, "Hmmm... maybe they're just a minority that are still loyal to the Covenant..."

"Well, the only way to get to that Pokémon Centre and heal up our Pokémon is if we go through that group there," said Surge, pointing at the Elites, "But we won't be able to do that without tipping off both groups at once".

"And that's where Latias comes in," Ben looked across in her general direction, formulating a plan, "I think you'd be able to cause some mischief if you stay out of sight. You see, Brutes and Elites _really_ hate each other, so it shouldn't be too hard to get them to pick a fight with one other. Here's what we'll do..."

The Elites that were standing near the Pokémon Centre all looked about apprehensively, feeling disgruntled that they had to be working within several light years of their hated rivals. One of them looked across and spotted the Brutes throwing stones off the pier, trying to hit the Water-Type Pokémon swimming around underneath. It muttered something in Sangheili to its friends, and turned to stare through the window at the prisoners inside.

A rock suddenly struck its head. It twisted about angrily, looking to see who threw it. The Brutes on the pier were laughing at something amongst themselves. It was probably them who threw it, the blasted creatures. It frowned and turned about again.

Several more rocks suddenly pummelled the Elites, and they all turned at once. They stormed over to the pier, and started shouting at their rivals in their alien language. An argument quickly broke out between them. The Jackals and Grunts all stood around, watching with a mix of interest and concern.

"That's our chance!" hissed Ben, "Good work, Latias! Let's go".

Latias reappeared near the Pokémon Centre as He dashed across towards her.

"Hopefully, we're out of range of their motion trackers," Ben murmured. He noticed that the sensor for the automatic doors had been destroyed. He turned about to the group of Covenant, which hadn't noticed them yet, and were arguing loudly amongst themselves.

He turned to Latias and pointed at the door, "If you'll do the honours, please?"

The door was suddenly surrounded by a light-red glow, and slowly drifted apart with a soft _creak_. Several voices inside chattered excitedly as He stepped in. Inside, were several adults, some with children, numerous Pokémon, and Nurse Joy, who was in her usual position behind the counter.

"Oh thank goodness!" someone exclaimed in relief, "Someone's here to save us!"

Ben and Raichu briskly walked straight for the counter.

"Welcome to the Vermillion City Pokémon Centre," Nurse Joy smiled, "I assume you want your Pokémon healed up?"

"That's right," Ben nodded, beckoning Raichu onto the counter, placing several other Poke Balls next to it.

"We got it lucky here," Joy said as she placed Raichu and the Poke Balls into the machine, "We still have enough power to run the entire Pokémon Centre. The aliens simply shoved us all in here and told us not to go anywhere". The machine made several beeping noises as it scanned them with a beam of energy. Raichu's injuries suddenly disappeared without a trace.

"Here you go!" Joy bowed as He took back his Pokémon, "We hope you have a nice day!"

He looked outside, watching the Covenant briefly, before motioning Ash to come across.

The boy sprinted as fast as his legs could carry him, desperately holding Pikachu in his arms. He swerved inside, not stopping until he placed Pikachu on the counter.

Nurse Joy blinked in surprise, and placed Pikachu in the machine. It made its usual cheerful tune, and Pikachu's wounds disappeared as well.

"Phew!" Ash sighed in relief, "How's that, Pikachu? Are you feeling better now?"

Pikachu stretched and nodded in confirmation.

Everyone suddenly flinched when a loud uproar rose up outside. The Covenant soldiers all started yelling at once and a vicious fight broke out between them. Energy Swords and Gravity Hammers were drawn and plasma fire started erupting left, right and centre.

The humans watched incredulously as the fight escalated. There was already a dozen dead aliens as the two groups hacked away at each other.

"It's now or never!" Ben beckoned, "Everyone follow me! We're getting out of here!"

The hostages all sprinted towards the gatehouse, leaving Nurse Joy behind a the Pokémon Centre. Surge stood watch as they approached. Something touched his shoulder unexpectedly, causing him to flinch. A voice spoke up, "We'll take it from here". He turned about to see a squad of Marines standing behind him, watching the fight at the pier with interest.

He nodded and stepped outside. One by one, the hostages filed through and outside, gathering to the right of the gatehouse. The looks of relief on their faces made him smile to himself.

The Marine sergeant led his squad inside the city, and they raised their weapons as one unit towards the brawl.

Ben smirked as a barrage of lead erupted from the formation into the crowd of aliens, dropping dozens of them in a single ten-second salvo. The Covenant paused their brawl in confusion, and turned about to the clustered squad of Marines, who were rapidly reloading their weapons.

"Ash, you watch over the civilians! Let's get them team!" Ben quickly called out Gallade and Larvesta in rapid succession, "Gallade, Swords Dance! Larvesta, Flame Charge! Latias, Dragon Pulse! Raichu, Thunder!"

Ash nodded dutifully and ran outside the city, as the OSDT's team all launched their respective attacks at once, causing the Covenant to panic. They jumped about to avoid the fireball on legs that was Larvesta, only to be collected up by either a fierce lightning strike from the mouse or an immense twister of dark-blue energy from the Legendary.

"Gallade," He aimed his stolen Plasma Rifle, "I'll mark out targets and you take them out with Psycho Cut! Larvesta, you blast anything that still moves with Flamethrower!"

Gallade nodded and made a battle pose as Larvesta got to work, spurting fire in all directions.

He took sight of an Elite and started blasting it. The Elite turned about in anger, and copped a Psycho Cut to the head, stunning it and destroying its shield. The glow around Gallade's right arm turned from pink to green, and he stabbed it clean through the throat with a Leaf Blade, killing it.

The Marines didn't bother with a second salvo, and watched as the Pokémon quickly and efficiently decimated the Covenant soldiers. A swarm of Grunts and Jackals were rapidly dismembered by Latias' crushing Psychic attack. An Elite managed to plant its foot in Larvesta's side, launching it off into a building with a _crash_. Its moment of smugness was short-lived, as it became enveloped in a powerful blast of electricity from Raichu, overloading its shields in an instant and knocking it back. A burst of plasma fire from Ben caused it to grimace in pain as Gallade dashed across and slashed it down with Psycho Cut, finishing it off.

The last remaining Brute growled in fury, swinging its Gravity Hammer around to keep the Pokémon at bay. Its comrades were piled up around it, either dead or incapacitated.

"Latias, disarm him with Psychic!" ordered Ben.

The Gravity Hammer turned pink, and a fierce tug of war broke out, with the Brute holding onto the weapon with all the strength it could muster.

A frown and a sweat-drop formed on Latias' face, "_This one's strong! We're going to have to finish it quickly_".

Gallade and Raichu surrounded it on either side. Raichu formed and launched a Focus Blast orb at it, landing a hit on the Brute's side and causing it to flinch. Gallade quickly stepped in and jabbed a Leaf Blade in its other side, causing it to yell in fury. With a burst on energy, Latias yanked the Gravity Hammer from the Brute's grasp and held it over the Brute's head.

"Gallade and Raichu, step back!" Ben exclaimed. Both Pokémon nodded and jumped away.

Latias brought the Hammer down squarely on the Brute's head with a loud _crack _that seemed to tear the fabric of space itself, and the beast slumped over, out of commission.

Everything went silent for several seconds, as they looked about for any more Covenant. Soft groans could be heard from the aliens that weren't quite dead yet. They were silenced by shots to the head from the Marines as they walked over.

"Now that's something I've never seen before!" the sergeant said in surprise, "I'm hoping our helmet cameras were able to get all of that". He glanced about in silence to the ODST, who was concernedly inspecting the gaping hole in the wall of the building, left by Larvesta.

"What a mess," Ben shook his head as he holstered the Plasma Rifle, "I hope Larvesta's alright".

He spotted the Bug/Fire Type lying in a heap of rubble, slowly shuffling about to get up.

He blinked in surprise, "That little guy's tougher than he looks! I honestly expected that to knock him out..."

He recalled Larvesta to its Poké Ball and turned to face the Marines, "Oh, you must be the reinforcements from the UNSC _Tornado_".

"That's right," the sergeant nodded, "I'm Sergeant Thompson, and this is 4th Platoon, Phoenix Company".

He looked around at the Marines, making brief eye contact with each one. They all had the same hardened expression of determination, the years of bitter and bloody war etched into their faces.

"Now, about that base in the Gym," Ben turned to Surge, "We should probably take that out now before it becomes a problem".

"The entrance for the Gym is on the other side of the building, facing the harbour," explained Surge, "But there are trees blocking the way and the only other way to get there is to swim".

Ben looked at him dumbstruck, "Why would you have it set up like that?!"

"Because it means that trainers have to be determined and creative in order to face me," Surge crossed his arms, "But the Covenant cheated by using their dropships to get to the entrance, which meant that I had no time to prepare a defence. They simply broke the door down took not only my Gym members but the entire town hostage. I had no choice but to find a truce".

He led them to the Gym, pointing out the obstacles at hand, "You need a Pokémon that knows HM Cut to get through that".

"You'd think a chainsaw would simply work best," murmured a Marine.

"And just where would an eleven year-old kid get his or her hands on a chainsaw then, eh?" Surge turned to the man with a glare.

The soldier shrugged, "Maybe their parents are particularly generous. You never know".

"Fantastic," Surge shook his head, "We have ourselves a smart-arse. Well, for those who can't be bothered cutting the tree down, they can simply swim around it if they have a Pokémon that knows HM Surf, and also has the appropriate badge that allows them to use it".

"I have an idea," Ben spoke up and walked across to the shrub blocking the path and simply forced his way through the gap between the offending plant and the building, holding it to the side so that Raichu and Gallade could follow, while Latias flew around it.

"Ta-da," He raised his hands, "Now, about this base..."

"See, now you've just ruined the fun of it!" Surge grumbled as he followed suit.

Once everyone was past the shrub, they gathered in front of the Gym, noticing that the Covenant hadn't bothered to replace the door. They could hear the sounds of shouting and machines. Covenant soldiers of all sorts dashed around, refurbishing the Gym's facilities to their own purpose.

"I suppose we just knock and walk in?" Another Marine spoke up, flicking his assault rifle's safety to 'off'.

"I suppose so," Ben shrugged as he assessed the task in front of them. There were several electric barriers blocking off the path to the Brute Chieftain in charge, who was residing at the back of the roof, where Surge would normally wait for challengers. There was an Engineer floating about, fiddling with miscellaneous pieces of equipment. They took note of the large amount of Grunts filing about, trying to build a large machine in the centre of the room, which the humans couldn't quite figure out what was for. Several Jackals prowled about, keeping watch, while their Brute overseers stood by, talking amongst themselves. Near the far right corner of the building, Surge spotted several sullen-looking Electric Type Pokémon that were being forced to act as power generators, with electrical cords in taped to their bodies.

"They've taken advantage of the Pokémon, and are using them to power their machine," Surge noted angrily, "I hope they're still alright..."

"Tear them up, boys!" Thompson shouted, triggering his entire squad to open fire. Catching the Covenant by surprise, they quickly emptied their clips and dashed out of sight behind the walls to reload, avoiding the barrage of plasma fire that returned their way.

"Latias!" Ben shouted over the cacophony of noise, "I need you to use Protect and act as a decoy, so that we can get some shots off to drop these bastards".

"_You can count on me_!" Latias made a determined nod, and disappeared into thin air. After several seconds, she reappeared inside the Gym and off to the left. The Covenant soldiers took the bait and blasted away at her. The plasma bolts struck harmlessly against the green barrier.

"Inside! Go, go, go!" Thompson ushered his squad into the Gym, using the machinery for cover as they shot up Grunts left, right and centre.

Ben turned to his orange companion, "Rush up to them with Quick Attack and blast them with Thunder!"

Raichu nodded and dashed off into the fray. Shortly after, several lightning bolts were randomly cast in numerous directions, sweeping up all aliens in their path.

Latias flinched at all the hostile attention, "_Be quick! I don't know how long I can hold this up for!_"

Ben urgently turned to Gallade, "Same routine as before! I'll mark out targets, you hit them with either Psycho Cut or that Leaf Blade thing you do!"

Gallade gave a quick nod and ran off, following the trail of blue plasma being laid out by Ben towards target after target.

The Covenant were quickly being overwhelmed, and found themselves cornered at the back of the room. A Brute grabbed an Ampharos from the collection of Electric Types and held its Plasma Rifle to the Pokémon's head, "Don't you dare approach any closer, or the creature will die!"

The Ampharos whimpered in fright as the Marines gathered around, keeping their guns trained on the aliens.

"I don't think you're in a position to make threats, you oversized gorilla," Ben scowled underneath his helmet, "Latias! Disarm him!"

The weapon was suddenly torn from the Brute's grip, startling it momentarily. "As you wish," the Brute snarled. There was a loud grinding sound and a piercing scream as the Brute simply tore the Ampharos' head clean off its shoulders. The body slumped to the floor as a torrent of blood started flowing everywhere, creating a sizable puddle on the floor. The Brute briefly gripped the head in front of the mortified humans, an expression of sheer agony etched into the Electric-Type's face.

"I told you I would kill it, and now we will kill them all!" the Brute growled. The last surviving Jackal gleefully placed a Needler at a shivering Pachirisu's head.

A powerful wave of psychic energy nearly blasted everyone off their feet, stopping them in their tracks. They all turned about to Latias.

"_ENOUGH!_" The dragoness screamed telepathically, with a distorted expression of sheer fury on her face. Her eyes glowed brightly with a pink aura, and one could see the very air around her rippling with pure ecstasy. The Covenant stared in shock as the colour drained from their faces.

"_Never have I encountered such a... MONSTER as yourself! I have never met something that is capable of so much sheer sadism and malice! You are a waste of oxygen and space that doesn't deserve to live,_" She said coldly. There was a resounding cacophony as several necks all snapped at once, and the surviving Covenant soldiers all dropped to the floor, leaving only the Chieftain, who was still behind the relative safety of its electric barrier.

"By the prophets, what _are_ you?!" the Chieftain could only stare in shock, like a deer caught in the headlights.

"_I am Latias, the Legendary Eon Pokémon, and you better remember my name as you drag your pathetic hide through the pits of Hell!_" Latias spat as she dismantled the electric barriers one by one with her mind. She turned to the Electric Type Pokémon and released the bonds that held them in place, "_It's all yours_".

The Pokémon all turned and stared at the Chieftain with feral grins on their faces.

"Wh-What is this sorcery?! S-Stay back!" The Chieftain grabbed its Gravity Hammer and held it defensively in their direction. The Hammer was suddenly torn from its grasp telekinetically, with all of the Brute's resolve and hope going with it.

"Oh dear," were its last audible words, as a deafening crack of a combined lightning bolt from the Electric Types engulfed it and fried its innards.

There was a tense silence as everyone turned and stared at the Eon Pokémon with a new sense of fearful respect. After a few moments, Latias seemed to calm herself down. A soft squeak drew her gaze to the Engineer, which had crammed itself into a corner out of terror.

"_What is that?_" she asked.

"That's called a 'Huragok', or 'Engineer'," Ben explained, "They're non-combatanants that are technological geniuses that have the uncanny ability to fix pretty much anything, from what I've heard. They're the only Covenant species that we generally avoid shooting, simply because they're so placid and harmless".

Latias' explosive rage had disappeared as quickly as it had arrived, and she approached the terrified creature, gently trying to get it to settle down. The distraught Engineer simply made a dash to get away. She sighed sombrely and let it go.

"Now, let's get all this trash out of my Gym!" Surge gestured towards the Covenant machinery.

"We'll get the tech-heads from _Tornado_ down here, and they'll be able to take all this junk back to the ship and perhaps make something out of it," offered Thompson.

As the Marines fiddled about with the machinery, Ben recalled his team and slipped outside, heading back for the Pokémon Centre. "I should probably heal my team back up after all that," He murmured to himself.

The automatic doors were still unresponsive, jammed open. As He placed the Poké Balls on the counter, Nurse Joy smiled, "I'm grateful on behalf of everyone that you were able to take out those aliens like that. For a moment, I thought all hope was lost... Here, allow me to express my gratitude".

She briefly bent down behind the counter, and produced a cobalt-blue Pokédex, showing it to him.

"It's one of my duties to register up-coming Pokémon Trainers and give them a Pokédex so that they can start their journey. If you want, I can register you to the system, and you can become an official trainer for real".

Underneath his visor, he smiled to himself. It was little things like seeing people that were thankful for his efforts that made his job worthwhile. "That would be very nice, thank you".

"I'll just need you name and basic details, if that's okay?" She handed him a form to sign and a pen.

He quickly read over the form. Nothing to complex here, he thought. Name, age, gender, hometown, occupation, a list of terms and conditions regarding what a trainer can and cannot do legally, nothing too outrageous.

"There we go," He quickly scribbled down his responses.

Nurse Joy glanced briefly at the form, then plugged the Pokedex into the computer with a USB cable and placed the paper in a scanner. The scanned image appeared on the computer monitor.

"Now, to finish things off, we need a photo ID, so you're going to have to remove that helmet," said Joy, grabbing a camera from under the counter.

"Ugh... fine," He gave his helmet a slight twist, making a soft hiss with depressurisation, and gingerly removed it, placing it next to him on the counter.

"Thank you. Can you give us just a normal blank face please," Nurse Joy took aim, and the flash went off with a click, "There we go". She connected the camera to the computer and uploaded the photo as Ben placed his helmet back on his head. After a few moments, the machine made a beeping noise, and she disconnected the Pokedex.

"Here you go!" she said with a bow, handing him the device and a card containing his details, "You are now officially a Pokémon Trainer!"

He eagerly opened up his new toy or the first time, and the device flared to life. After a few seconds, a list of all the known Pokémon appeared.

"Goodness, there sure are a lot of them!" He remarked, flicking through the list.

Next, he looked at his new Trainer card, containing his photo ID and details.

_Name: Ben Shearer _

_Age: 29_

_Gender: M_

_Hometown: New Alexandria, Reach_

_Occupation: -Classified-_

_Trainer ID: 61758_

_Pokédex: 5_

_Adventure Started: 17/4/2555_

"Your Pokémon have been registered to your name," said Joy, "But I'm afraid that there is an irregularity here".

"Hmm?" He frowned in concern.

"Your Raichu hasn't been listed as 'caught' by you yet, and thus is still registered to another trainer. Is there a reason for that?"

"Uh, it's a long story that you probably wouldn't believe if I told you..." He said sheepishly.

"Well anyway, if you look under the menu option 'Pokémon', you'll find the details of every Pokémon you have on you at the time".

He glanced through the Pokédex, and scouted the menu she mentioned.

Sure enough, he spotted what she had described.

...

Raichu (M) Lv. 57

Naive Nature.

Kanto.

Apparently met at Lv. 54

Highly curious.

Dex No. 26

Name: Raichu

Type: Electric

OT: Stewart Hartman

ID No.: 06722

Ability: Static

Moveset:

-Thunder

-Volt Tackle

-Focus Blast

-Quick Attack

Item: None

...

Larvesta (M) Lv. 51

Quiet Nature.

Unova

Apparently met at Lv. 50

Thoroughly cunning.

Dex No. 636

Name: Larvesta

Type: Bug/Fire

OT: Mark Sheffield

ID No.: 77281

Ability: Flame Body

Moveset:

-Flame Charge

-Flamethrower

-Bug Bite

-String Shot

Item: None

...

Latias (F) Lv. 61

Bold Nature.

Hoenn

Apparently met at Lv. 57

Quick tempered.

Dex No. 380

Name: Latias

Type: Dragon/Psychic

OT: Ben Shearer

ID No.: 61758

Ability: Levitate

Moveset:

-Dragon Pulse

-Psychic

-Protect

-Recover

Item: None

...

Gallade (M) Lv. 53

Serious Nature.

Sinnoh

Apparently met at Lv. 52

Alert to sounds.

Dex No. 475

Name: Gallade

Type: Psychic/Fighting

OT: Anthony Caulfield

ID No.: 24517

Ability: Steadfast

Moveset:

-Psycho Cut

-Close Combat

-Leaf Blade

-Swords Dance

Item: None

...

"Huh, that's very interesting," He mused, "I'm guessing Mark was one of the poor buggers killed in Cerulean City, but who is this 'Stewart' guy? Raichu, does the name 'Stewart Hartman' ring any bells to you?"

Raichu visibly shifted uncomfortably, nodding his head profusely.

"I can access Stewart's profile from the mainframe," Joy offered, already typing the name into the search engine.

She twisted the screen around for them to see, and He was surprised with what He saw.

It was a fairly young kid, maybe only thirteen or fourteen years old, with scruffy black hair, dark brown eyes and a slightly tanned complexion. The kid's stern gaze gave him the feeling that this was a no-nonsense kind of person.

"Stewart Hartman," Nurse Joy read straight off the screen, "Born in Saffron City, raised in Lavender Town; obtained his trainer's license at age ten, his first Pokémon being Pichu. He had no siblings, and didn't come from a particularly rich background, so he had to work hard as a trainer in order to win competitions and live off prize money. Unfortunately, his parents were killed when a Gyarados went on a rampage, leaving him an orphan and with a phobia of large Pokémon. He lived out of hotels for several months, before a thief broke into his apartment and stole all his valuable belongings. He couldn't pay for the rent, so they kicked him out. His only companion at this point was Pichu, which by this time was now a Raichu, and together they made a living pick-pocketing and stealing to stay alive. Just a few weeks ago, Stewart was arrested by Police in Viridian City for burglary, but the Raichu escaped and hasn't been seen since".

"That explains everything..." He whispered, "That explains why Raichu was being chased by that Policewoman when I first met him and he started following me!"

"So technically, you're harbouring a Pokémon that is wanted by the Police," Joy tilted her head slightly.

"That also explains why he was a competent fighter right off the bat," the ODST ignored her, off in His own little world, "But what I want to know is why he placed his trust in me so early. I was a complete stranger to him, and yet he still turned to me for help... Why?"

He shifted his stare to Raichu, who stared straight back.

"What made you turn to me of all people for help, little buddy?" He whispered under his breath.

A cold shiver suddenly went up His spine, and a red blip approached him on his motion tracker. Concerned and confused, He slowly turned about. Floating before Him, was a Pokémon very similar to Latias in appearance, only blue instead of red, and slightly larger in size. The Pokémon's deep red eyes stared straight at him, cold and emotionless.

It took him several seconds to connect the dots, "You must be Latias' brother, Latios. Correct?"

Latios didn't respond, causing Him to shift uncomfortably.

Both Nurse Joy and Raichu gazed in surprise at the male of the Eon Pokémon Duo. "Latios?!" Joy exclaimed, "What's he doing here?"

"_So you are the one who caught my sister,_" a new voice entered his head. It was deep, and definitely masculine.

"Uh... yeah. That's right," He managed to answer. As He struggled to make sense of what was happening, Latias' Poké Ball jiggled about violently and opened, releasing her. "_Brother! What brings you here?_" She exclaimed.

"_Let me tell you this, and listen closely,_" Latios growled lowly, ignoring her, "_If any harm comes to my sister whatsoever, in any shape or form, I swear on the Soul Dew that I will __**END**__ you. No 'ifs', 'buts', or 'maybes'. Do you understand?_"

"Uh-"

"_DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!_" Latios screamed into Ben's head, startling him.

"Y-Yes," came the timid reply.

"_Good_," Latios grunted. He made a brief glance at his sister, finally acknowledging her existence, and then disappeared into thin air.

He looked towards Latias for an answer, who just shrugged meekly.

"Oh, ODST! There you are!" Surge called out, standing outside, "The Marines are all done here, so we're heading back up to Saffron City".

He gave a visible nod and followed the Gym Leader outside.

A low droning noise caught their attention, and they all turned their heads to the skies. Numerous Phantoms loaded with additional troops were bearing down upon them.

"I think it's time we left," Ben stated, "Come on. Let's get these civilians to Saffron City. We can evac them from there".

"Sounds good," Thompson nodded and stared blankly to the left, "_Tornado_, this is Phoenix 4-1. Did you get that? Requesting civilian evac from our co-ordinates".

The response he received was unsettling. There was a lot of shouting, the blaring of sirens, and the sounds of explosions on the other side of the radio.

"_Copy that Phoenix 4-1_," the radio operator replied coolly, "_Uh, we're having a few difficulties with that request. Namely, we're not alone up here_". A static-y blast followed by the rattle of gunfire and more shouting confirmed the situation.

Thompson made a grim face, "Copy that. Good luck, _Tornado. _Phoenix4-1 out".

They all turned their heads upwards and spotted the bright flashes of the battle raging far above, but could not make out any details.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about that," Ben shook his head, "Let's go".

* * *

><p><strong>-Somewhere in Viridian Forest-<strong>

"_Giovanni..._" the large Psychic-Type Legendary towered beside the man in orange it was speaking to as they walked through dense shrubs, "_I am only doing as you say because all life on this planet as we know it is at risk of being annihilated by these aliens. Once this is over, I'm leaving to wander the earth and explore what it has to offer, and there will be nothing you can do to stop me_".

The Team Rocket boss sighed heavily, "I realised that the moment I released you. However, if Team Rocket is to take over the world, first there must be a world to even take over in the first place. It'd be no fun if it were just you and me".

"_No, it would be just me_," Mewtwo muttered, "_I'll probably kill you myself if the aliens don't beat me to it first_".

"So you plan to betray me already?" Giovanni smirked, "And to think that I was the one who gave you life in the first place. You ungrateful little-"

"_Shhh_," Mewtwo suddenly stopped him, looking about warily, "_I sense three lifeforms somewhere in this forest, and they're not alien_".

"Hmmm?" Giovanni blinked, "Where?"

"This way," Mewtwo changed direction, entering a small clearing. Three ragged figures were lying in a ditch, trapped under a fallen log.

Giovanni recognised them immediately, "Oh for the love of Arceus! Of ALL the people who could've survived this apocalypse, it HAD to be you three morons!"

"Hey boss..." Jessie, James and Meowth all waved sheepishly, "We hate to be a bother, but you please give us a hand here... we seem to be stuck..."

"Ugh..." Giovanni sighed in exasperation, "Whatever. Mewtwo, let's give 'em a hand".

The log became surrounded in a light-blue aura, and slowly levitated up and off to the side.

"Thank you very much, boss!" Jessie exclaimed gratefully, "I thought we'd be trapped there forever! But, what is that Pokémon you have with you?"

"This is Mewtwo," Giovanni gestured to the pouting Legendary, "and he's been our little pet project of many years to create the Ultimate Pokémon, and I'd say he turned out a bit of a bigger success than we anticipated. Now he's too strong for his own good, and has more power than what he knows what to do with".

"_Oh, I know very well what I'm going to do with it all_," Mewtwo sneered, "_I'm just trying to figure out what I'm going to do with your carcass when I'm done with it..._"

The trio took a step back from the disgruntled Psychic-Type. "I think we should give him a wide berth for now..." James whispered.

"So uh, what are we going to do now boss?" asked Jessie.

"First, we're going to rebuild Team Rocket to what it was, and then we're going to clean up a little alien infestation," Giovanni smirked, "But to do that, we're going to Johto! We have our work cut out for us, so let's get to it!"

What was left of Team Rocket then disappeared into Viridian Forest's undergrowth and out of sight.

**...**

**...**


	13. The Victory Road Meatgrinder

CHAPTER 13

**[Saffron City]**

The Saffron City Pokémon Centre was abuzz with activity, as refugees bustled about. Some had varying degrees of injuries; many even still had Pokémon with them, but all had the same expression of shock and terror, unable to believe the situation they were suddenly thrusted into. The UNSC soldiers were busy setting up a make-shift headquarters, attending to the wounded or keeping watch.

"Any word from the Cerulean City group?" Officer Jenny asked the Phoenix Company C.O, whose named turned out to be Commander Donaldson.

"Negative," Donaldson shook his head worriedly, sipping a cup of coffee, "2nd Platoon has lost radio contact and gone dark, although it might simply be the Covenant jamming our transmissions".

"I sure hope that's the case," Jenny murmured, "I don't want any more of our people lost, much less Misty, Sabrina or your troops". Donaldson sighed heavily, "We can only wait and see".

A police officer strode up to them, "Ma'am, UNSC forces have made contact with the Elite Four. New instructions are for everyone in the Kanto region to rendezvous here in Saffron City. Those who wish to stay and fight are more than welcome to do so, however everyone else is to be extracted off-planet via airlift. UNSC Destroyer _Tornado_ has entered the planet's orbit, however its presence has been compromised by a Covenant corvette, and it is otherwise occupied at this time. A detachment-sized UNSC naval force is on its way to secure the system, and expects to arrive within a month. Ships we can expect in that force are: the frigates UNSC _Mary Rose_, UNSC _Intrepid_, UNSC _Hobart_, and UNSC _Arleigh Burke_; the destroyers UNSC _Typhoon _and UNSC _Whirlwind_; and finally, the heavy cruiser UNSC _Montana_".

"A month?!" Jenny exclaimed, "Are they serious? They'll be evacuating our ashes by then!"

The officer calmly continued, "The good news however, is that there is another UNSC ship within a few days' travel, and they are bee-lining straight to our aid, namely the colony ship UNSC _Spirit of Fire_".

Donaldson almost choked on his drink, "I'm sorry, did I hear that right? Did you seriously say '_Spirit of Fire_'?!"

"Yes," the officer replied, "Is something the matter?"

"Is something the matter?!" Donaldson parroted, "The _Spirit of Fire_ disappeared at least _twenty_ years ago, presumed lost with all hands!"

"Well, someone has answered our distress beacon under that callsign, and they are on their way," the officer shrugged, "Help is help. Beggars can't be choosers".

Donaldson stared off into space incredulously, "That can't be right..."

"While the _Spirit of Fire_ is quite close, it has reported that it has no Slipspace drive, and will take at least three days to get here," the officer said, "Alongside the _Tornado_, they will be all the assistance we'll have for at least four weeks. The Elite Four has designated several defendable locations to hold out. They are: Victory Road and Saffron City, in Kanto; Mt Silver and the Whirl Islands, in Johto; Sootopolis City and Ever Grande City, Hoenn; the vast maze of tunnels underneath Sinnoh; and finally the Victory Road in Unova".

The officer took a moment to catch her breath and let her information sink in, before resuming, "News has come in of the UNSC _St Petersburg_, which was last known to be engaging in combat with what is believed to be the same corvette which is now engaging _Tornado_. Unfortunately, the _St Petersburg_ was destroyed in action over X-778. There are only six confirmed survivors, all of them ODSTs which jettisoned shortly before her untimely demise. One of which, is Lance Corporal Ben Shearer, the ODST currently working with us".

"How far away was the _Tornado_ at the time?" asked Officer Jenny, "Why couldn't they assist?"

"_Tornado_ was at least twenty hours away," Donaldson answered dejectedly, "My cousin was serving onboard the _St Petersburg, _and I doubt he made it out".

"Look! The groups are returning!" someone spoke up.

Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny poked their heads outside, spotting two groups of people approaching from different directions: One from Celadon City and the other from Vermillion.

"Look at all the survivors they extracted," Jenny murmured, "I didn't think this many people would still be alive..."

"They survived, and that's all that matters," Joy said determinedly, "Although, we're starting to get a little hard-pressed for breathing space in just one Pokémon Centre..."

Ben and Ash approached them hastily, "Mission completed, ma'am. All Vermillion City survivors accounted for".

"Excellent," Jenny nodded approvingly, "Get them inside and take five. Well done, you two".

The trainer and the ODST both briefly saluted and walked inside.

"Celadon City is now empty," Gary and Brock walked across, "Everyone that's alive is now here in Saffron".

"Very good," Nurse Joy ushered them inside, "The power generator is back online, so take the time to heal your Pokémon".

"Will do," Gary walked over to the machine, placing his Pokémon inside.

"Alrighty..." Ben rested his weight against the counter and placed the Ultra Ball next to him. Raichu jumped up and sat down next to the healing machine.

"Latias, can you still communicate through the Poke Ball?" he asked.

"_Yes, loud and clear,_" Latias' telepathic voice replied, "_What is it?_"

"There are a few things which are troubling me, mainly about my own team," He murmured with a frown, "Nearly all of you have pretty much fallen into my lap, and do everything I say regardless of me being a complete stranger to you. And I want to know why. Take yourself, for example. We happened to meet randomly in the middle of a warzone, and all of a sudden, you're following me around everywhere".

"_Is there a problem with that?_" Latias asked in concern.

"Not really, considering how helpful you are, but it makes no sense as to why such a powerhouse as yourself fell out of the blue into my arms. You could have chosen pretty much anyone to join if you wanted to, but instead you chose someone who isn't even from your planet, let alone even reveal his own face to you".

"_Well to be honest... I was scared_," Latias replied, "_Seeing you take down those enemy fighters without a problem gave me the impression of someone who is tough and dependable. It made sense to me at the time that I should follow you around for safety. Strength in numbers, you understand_".

"That wasn't even me who did that. Raichu deserves all the credit, there. And what about Latios? My first impression of him tells me that he would drop everything without a second thought to ensure you were safe," said Ben, "He could've just as easily dashed over in order to save you".

"_Latios was in Johto at the time. He probably wouldn't have made it in time,_" Latias answered, "_By the time he had reached the border, you had already stepped in, I was safe for the time being, and his arrival would have been pointless_".

Not quite satisfied with the answer, he nevertheless shifted topics, "What about the others? You have the ability of telepathy, don't you? Why are the others following me? I literally stole Larvesta straight off a dead guy, and yet he has no qualms in following my orders".

"_For a Pokémon that makes as little noise as he does, he sure does a lot of thinking. Larvesta is a remarkably resilient little Pokémon, and sitting in his Poke Ball gave him a chance to settle down and recover from his ordeal,_" Latias explained, "_Once he had started recovering, he had the same mindset as I did: Stick with the strong ones in order to survive_".

"That must've been a very quick turnaround," He muttered, "There wasn't really that much time between me obtaining him and catching you".

"_Well, to be honest, I think he just wanted someone human to stick close to, and you were first in, first served, so to speak_," said Latias.

"Alright, what about Gallade?" Ben asked, "Anthony practically shoved into him my arms without a second thought. How's he holding up?"

"_Gallade... is a very distressed individual, indeed. He won't show it, because he doesn't want his emotions to conflict with his objective, which is to keep you alive. In the brief time I was in Anthony's vicinity, I was able to make a quick read of his mind, to get a bit of back-story and personality, you see, and I believe that your status as an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper placed you in high regard in Anthony's eyes. He believed you to be the one he could guarantee to look after Gallade's well-being if anything happened to him. By respecting Anthony's last wish, Gallade is putting all of your problems before his own, which is very brave in its own way, but behind the scenes, his emotions are slowly eating him up_," Latias answered, with a tinge of sadness in her voice, "_I do believe he is suffering from a condition you humans like to call 'Post Traumatic Stress Disorder', judging by the thought patterns I pick up from his Poke Ball in between battles. Each new encounter with the enemy causes great stress for him, as it does for anyone who's life is on the line, but he somehow manages to muster the courage and willpower to suppress his fears in order to fight on for your sake_. _You are very lucky to have such a brave Pokémon on your team_, _but I recommend that the less time he spends fighting aliens, the better. There is only so much he can take before he cracks_".

"Hmm," this information greatly concerned the ODST. If Gallade's finally PTSD kicks in during a battle, that will put not only him but potentially the entire team in terrible danger.

"Then tell me about the one who started it all for me," Ben asked, turning to his orange companion, scratching its chin, "Raichu, you started following me around at the drop of a coin, simply because of a chance encounter that saved you from a prison sentence. Sure, I saved you from the police, but normally, that alone shouldn't have guaranteed your loyalty. What was it that clicked in your head that made you willing to follow me to Hell and back?"

"_Apparently, when he met you, he simply went with the flow of events during your encounter, hoping that by making it look like you were actually his trainer, he would lose the suspicion of the police officer pursuing him," _Latias replied,_ "After your first battle together, you gained his trust simply by being a capable leader and then giving him a decent meal. The strange fighting style you trained him in also allowed him to pull off a surprising win against Brock, although having a Fighting-Type move in the moveset probably helped. Most trainers struggle against him if they don't have a Water Type or a Grass Type Pokémon_".

Raichu turned his gaze to the Ultra Ball, staring at it intently.

"..._Now he is aware that I'm reading his mind_," Latias continued, "_and says that one day, after this is all over, he is hoping to be reunited with his previous trainer, Stewart. Perhaps by journeying with you, his new experiences and skills can be put to good use to help others less fortunate_".

"You got all that just by reading his mind?" Ben asked incredulously.

"_I'm a Psychic-Type. It is within my capabilities to act as a translator between humans and Pokémon, whether that requires me to read minds or not_".

"Well, that was quite an eye-opening conversation," Ben mused, placing the Ultra Ball back in his pocket, "I'm going to have to be more lenient as to when I use Gallade in a battle, or just not make him fight Covenant... which is going to be difficult, because his fighting skills are so valuable..."

"Do you normally talk to yourself?" asked Gary, who was listening in on the conversation with interest, but was unable to hear any of Latias' telepathy.

"Well, it's the only way to get a decent conversation these days," Ben replied, smirking beneath his visor, "But no, I was just talking with Latias. There was something that I was unsure about, but it's mostly clear now. She's quite useful in helping me assess the psychological state of my team, reading their minds and relaying the information to me".

"I see," Gary placed his hands in his pockets, "I don't have a Psychic Type with me, so I have to kind of have to guess what my team is trying to say half the time. It's pretty frustrating how they don't speak our language sometimes". He chuckled to himself, "There have been several times when things got lost in translation between us, leading to some pretty awkward situations".

"Hey Helljumper!" Commander Donaldson called out, grabbing Ben's attention, "Have you heard anything from the Cerulean-bound team? They haven't returned yet, and all radio contact has gone dark".

That was most troubling indeed. Ben shook his head, "Not since they left a few hours ago".

"Helljumper?" Gary asked in confusion.

"It's a nickname given to ODSTs," Ben glanced aside, "It comes from the fact that drop pods can get unbearably hot inside and sometimes almost cook the occupant alive, hence the term 'Hell'-jumper. The drop pods also sometimes experience mechanical failure during the drop, and kill the occupant on impact, which in turn is the origin of the phrase, 'Jumping feet-first into Hell'".

Gary stared in shock, "They make people _do_ that?! What makes people sign up for that, knowing that they can be killed just because of bad luck?"

"Most ODSTs are some of the craziest people you'll ever meet. The job requires a certain degree of insanity, and the highest level of skill and devotion. ODSTs are often drafted out of the Marine Corps, and are the best of the best that humanity can offer short of a Spartan. But because casualty rates are quite high, it takes balls of steel to accept the offer to be trained as one".

"Why did you accept the job, then?" asked Gary.

"I wanted to have a sense of purpose and achievement, plus the weapons and gear we get are pretty damn cool," Ben grinned beneath his visor, "I mean, look at me!" He gestured to various parts of his armour for emphasis.

"That's all very well, but your life is in the hand of a piece of machinery which may or may not decide to kill you prematurely!" Gary frowned, "Aren't you at least a _bit_ concerned about that?"

"Our lives were considered forfeit the moment we signed up to the Marine Corps," Ben replied dryly, "We just take it all in stride and hope our luck holds out".

"And your fiancé is completely fine with that?" Gary raised an eyebrow, "She's not going to be too impressed if she gets a letter that you're never coming home again".

"So you _were_ paying attention back then," Ben chuckled, "She knows the risks of my job, and has accepted them. She was in the Marine Corps as well, you know".

"Is she still serving with them?" asked Gary.

"Not at the moment," He shook his head, "She was wounded in action during the battle for Earth, and after it was all over, she was given several months to recover. She's currently soaking up the sunlight on an island out in the Pacific Ocean, I think it's called".

"Do you think she'll be alright?"

"As long as the aliens don't invade Earth again within the next few years, I think the peace and quiet will be good for her," Ben shrugged.

"What was her name again?" Gary frowned.

"Samantha," Ben replied.

"Ah, that's it... Maybe when this is all over, we should come visit Earth some day. You know, we never hear much about it here, other than that's where humans originally came from," Gary mused, "What's it like there?"

"I've only ever been there once or twice myself," said Ben, "I suppose it's very similar to this planet climate-wise".

"What sort of Pokémon do they have there?" Gary asked innocently.

Ben awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, "You know, we don't actually have 'Pokémon' per say..."

"No..." Gary gasped, "You're kidding, right?"

"I'm dead serious," said Ben, "Our fauna is different from yours, and our animals aren't quite as... extraordinary, to put it mildly".

"I hate to interrupt your nice chat," Donaldson stepped in between them, "But if I remember correctly, we have an MIA squad here! Helljumper, I'm placing 4th Platoon under your command, effective immediately. Your new task is to locate and bring back our missing squads, as well as the Gym Leaders Misty and Sabrina if possible. Understood?"

Ben promptly saluted, "Count on it, sir!"

The members of 4th Platoon gathered around Him, awaiting instructions. He glanced at each and every one of them individually, and then turned to Raichu, "Let's go".

Once again, the ODST and his companions trudged towards Cerulean City with determined vigour.

* * *

><p><strong>[Victory Road]<strong>

The Elite Four were in a bit of a dire predicament.

Numerous hordes of alien dropships were continuously drifting towards them from above. The surrounding area had been reduced to a series of blasted ruins and craters. The Elite Four and their respective Pokémon teams had retreated to the relative shelter of the maze that was Victory Road, creating a command-centre in a large cavern. Radio communication had been re-established via the UNSC _Tornado_, and they were currently trying to multitask by not only co-ordinating their efforts with the Elite Fours of other regions, but with the newly-arrived UNSC forces against this tenacious new enemy. On top of that, they had to remain on the move, constantly fighting off fresh waves of Covenant invaders.

Champion Lance looked about at his weary team, which had dwindled down to his three remaining Dragonites. They were each covered practically head-to-toe in a myriad of colours, which was beginning to mix together in a violet hue, with a splash of bright red here and there. The embattled dragons were beginning to show signs of strain, and he was running out of healing potions.

Bruno and his team were nearly wiped out, valiantly fighting to the bitter end holding the line at the Indigo Plateau exit, allowing the others plenty of time to escape. Only the actions of Lance's Gyarados allowed them a chance to leave themselves, sacrificing itself in the process. Bruno himself was left with only Machamp still standing. He sat against the wall, not saying anything.

Koga's team was also effectively neutralised as a fighting force altogether, with only Crobat still capable of combat. The ever-vigilant ninja master himself sat cross-legged on a mat, conserving his remaining strength, preparing himself for what will seemingly be his final fight.

Karen stood over a fold-up table, monitoring the feed of updates as other Elite Fours co-ordinated a plan on a laptop. Her team was worse-for-wear, but nevertheless still capable of significant fighting.

Will and his team were arguably still in the best condition of them all. The Psychic-Types had proven to be god-sends, holding significant numbers of their Covenant foes in place as the others beat them down. The sheer weight of numbers had been a strain on them however, and Will feared that if the Covenant attacks again, their stamina will not hold out for long.

The sound of Phantom engines echoed throughout the cave, signalling that they had returned with the next wave.

"These guys just don't know the meaning of 'Go away', do they?" Karen sighed, rapidly closing the laptop and collapsing the table like clockwork, placing everything in Poke Balls and putting them in her pocket.

Everyone made a dash for suitable cover positions, released what combat-capable Pokémon they had left, and waited. There were loud shuffling footsteps as the Covenant soldiers swarmed into the caverns. An equally large force of wild Pokémon answered the challenge of these intruders wandering into their territory, and a large brawl broke out. The Elite Four had to block their ears as the cacophonic sounds of battle echoed loudly throughout the caverns.

Chaos was rampant as the ground quickly became a mess. If one was able to observe from above, it would not look unlike the typical painting of a young child.

"Let's get 'em!" Lance yelled. With a loud roar, each Dragonite dashed off into the fray, disappearing amongst the chaotic brawl, followed close behind by the other Elite Four Pokémon. Koga disappeared in the blink of an eye as the trainers took cover behind rocks to micromanage their respective teams from afar, calling out instructions as they went.

Without warning, four Elites on Ghosts barrelled straight through the centre of the battlefield, with their boosts at full bore, splattering whatever unfortunate wretch got in their way.

The trainers watched aghast as the riders dismounted their machines, whipped out their energy swords, and proceeded to slice up anything within a ten metre radius.

"Dragonite!" Lance exclaimed, "Use Outrage on those aliens, there!"

All three Dragonites responded at once, charging without fear or hesitation at their new foes.

The Elites all jumped about to avoid the low-flying dragons, making agitated growling noises.

The dragons turned about with cold indifference in their eyes, the four-to-three disadvantage not deterring them in the slightest.

As the battle continued on around them, the Elites made the first move. One of them lunged out to stab its chosen target clean through the gut. The Dragonite side-stepped and rammed its fist into the Elite's abdomen with a purple aura. The second Elite threw a plasma grenade, which latched itself to Dragonite's upper arm. Reflexively, it ripped the ball of doom off with all its might, tearing a portion of dragon hide with it, and threw it up in the air, ducking down. No sooner had it thrown it, the grenade exploded just a few feet up in the air, collecting the unfortunate dragon in a blast of searing-hot plasma and knocking it out.

The Elite closest to it also barely escaped with its life, jumping clear at the last second, right into the second Dragonite. The dragon snarled and clamped one hand around the Elite's throat, and the other on its shoulder. Naturally, the Sangheili grappled with its captor to break free, as the latter's claws threatened to crush its windpipe. Instead of choking it to death however, Dragonite gave a mighty heave and tore the Elite's head clean off its shoulders, leaving a dripping, bloody vertebrae dangling in the air as the body slumped to the floor.

The remaining three Elites all dashed in as one, with their swords raised to strike. The two Dragonites both launched Flamethrower attacks at once, causing the Elites to abort and hit the deck.

The Elites launched back onto their feet, to find that their targets were now in their faces.

The two Dragonites both attacked with Outrage, triggering a brief fistfight which ended in a desperate grappling contest. With both Pokémon occupied, the third Elite ran around to stab them from behind. It chuckled as it raised its blade to strike, moving to make the final blow. A pink aura overcame its hand however, trapping it in place. It grunted as it tugged to wrench its arm free, but its efforts were in vain. It looked about in confusion, spotting a Pokémon standing in the corner, watching it with a cold glare. The Pokémon had a rather graceful and somewhat fragile appearance, very impractical for its current environment, with its white, ball gown-esque physiology. The large red eyes were unflinching and resolved as the triangular horn on its chest glowed brightly.

With a grunt of annoyance, the Elite reached across with its left hand for its Plasma Rifle, raised it, and fired a short burst at the creature. The shots all struck their mark cleanly, and the creature suddenly vanished into thin air.

_That's odd_, the Elite thought. With a shrug, it turned back to its original intention of slaying the two dragons, which were still occupied in a fierce struggle of strength. However, its arm was still trapped by the Psychic hold. It looked about in earnest, confused as to why the problem had not been solved. Then it spotted the creature again, standing on the other side of the room, as well as over near the parked Ghosts, and near the rocks where the humans were hiding... in fact, there were at least a dozen of these feminine creatures all standing around, and they were all concentrating solely on it. Unnerved, the Elite tried again to tear its grip from the hold, in vain.

As it looked about again, all of the creatures were now suddenly standing around him. The psychic hold was suddenly released, and with a snarl, the Elite made a wide slash to decapitate every single one of them in a single go. All of them vanished into thin air. The Elite looked about in puzzlement, then turned about to finish off the dragons. It came face to face once again with the creature, which was holding a large black ball of swirling energy in its hands. Before it could blink, Will's Gardevoir launched the Shadow Ball at point-blank range, blasting the Elite across the cavern and into the wall with a crash, incapacitating it. Koga suddenly slipped out from the shadows and slit the Sangheili's throat with a knife.

"Nice work with the Double Team, there," Koga remarked in Will's general direction, before slipping away in silence.

"Who says war can't be fought with grace and flair?" Will smirked.

Finally, the Elites were able to disengage the wrestling bout and spread out. One of them dashed up to Gardevoir from behind and stabbed her through the back, causing her to gasp in surprise and agony. The Elite looked smug as the Gardevoir fell flat on her face, just before Dragonite quickly tackled the Elite to the ground, slammed a rock in its face to disorient it, and finished it with a withering Flamethrower.

The final Elite made a horizontal slash across the final Dragonite's chest with its sword. Dragonite stepped back to avoid it, but was still caught by the tip of the blade, which left a nasty-looking gash. Dragonite counter-attacked by driving its left fist into the Elite's face, and its right into the Elite's gut with such force that several ribs audibly cracked. The Elite grunted and doubled over. Dragonite grabbed the Elite's sword-arm and snapped it across its knee, causing the Elite to howl and drop the sword.

In one last desperate gamble, an energy dagger extended from the Elite's left wrist, which it quickly plunged into Dragonite's right knee. Dragonite grunted and grabbed the Elite by the throat, intending to throttle it. The Elite rapidly rammed its dagger into Dragonite's chest, causing it to grimace in shock. After a few seconds, its eyes seemed to lose their focus as it slumped over backwards. The second remaining Dragonite growled in fury as it pushed the Elite onto its back and stomped down on its head, crushing its skull with a loud _crunch_.

Dragonite breathed heavily as it stood victorious over its opponent, making a loud roar of defiance that seemed to shake the cavern. The Covenant forces all stared at the large dragon briefly, before all turning their weapons towards it. The wild Pokémon attacked with renewed vigour, catching the distracted aliens off-guard, dispatching most, if not all of them within the space of sixty seconds.

As if in answer, another loud yell rose up as several Brutes charged into the fray, leading a fresh wave of Covenant soldiers.

"These creatures just don't give up, do they?!" Lance exclaimed in exasperation.

Tired and weary, the Pokémon fell back as the Covenant reinforcements poured into the caverns, eager to finish what their predecessors started. Catching the Pokémon mid-flight, many were mercilessly cut down under the relentless assault.

The few survivors rallied around Dragonite, who acted as a pillar of hope for survival, selflessly and viciously attacking all Covenant who strayed too close. The Brutes all made a circle around them, cackling evilly. Koga slipped up behind one and plunged his knife into the back of the Brute's throat. The other Brutes reacted by turning their guns about and opening fire. Koga swiftly ducked behind the Brute he just stabbed, which absorbed the entire assault as it slumped over while he dashed off into the shadows. The Brutes looked about for where their foe went.

Koga slipped unnoticed behind a second one, and dispatched it also with a knife to the back.

Reacting quickly, a nearby Brute lashed out and struck Koga in a backhand, launching him across the cavern, crashing through rocky pillars and landing against the wall.

A loud _crack_ resounded throughout the cave, startling everyone present. A third Brute slumped to the floor with a large hole in its head.

"Hornets! Swarm and attack!" a voice yelled out.

The Brutes turned about to face the unexpected entrants to the battle.

The Elite Four all sighed in relief as the ODSTs of Hornet Squad spread out, guns blazing, led by the shotgun-wielding Spartan. The natural rocky outcrops gave them plenty of cover as they rapidly zigzagged about, picking off Covenant soldiers left, right and centre. The Pokémon charged forward in a final push to assist the UNSC Special Forces troops, catching the Covenant in a vice-grip.

Realising the situation was quickly getting out of hand, the Brutes, in their characteristic fashion, chose to try and overcome their opponents with force. The leader dropped its Plasma Rifle and threw a punch at the Spartan's head. Jake ducked to the left and blasted the Brute with his shotgun. The Brute staggered back, growling in fury. The Spartan pumped the shotgun and blasted the Brute again, this time aiming for the knees. The Brute's legs gave way underneath it, and it tumbled over. Jake swiftly kicked its head, snapping its neck.

The ODSTs and the Pokémon all rushed about, making mincemeat of the Covenant, which were quickly losing cohesion and orientation. The Spartan placed his shotgun across his back and pulled out an Energy Sword of his own. He dashed forward and attacked a Jackal with an uppercut slash, almost slicing the creature in half. He then ran across to a second one, which instinctively ducked behind its protective shield. Jake simply peered over the top of the shield and stabbed the Jackal from above in a downward thrust.

The last remaining Grunt panicked and ran for its life. Hawk quickly took aim with his Sniper Rifle and let loose a shot, punching clean through the Grunt's armoured backpack and igniting the methane like a firecracker.

"Woo!" Jake exclaimed, "Now that's how we make an entrance, people!"

Lance stood up straight and approached them with a trained professionalism, "Thank you very much for the help. Unfortunately, we have suffered grievous losses so far, and for many, that battle was their last".

The Spartan placed his hand on Lance's shoulder, "Then let's get you lot out of here, or their untimely demise will be in vain. There are Pelicans on standby to get you out of here. They won't take long".

"I'm not leaving," Lance answered flatly, "We're not going to bend over and just admit defeat! We fight on until the very end-"

"And that's all very well," Jake interrupted pointing towards the exit, "But you guys are the Elite Four. You're no good to anyone if you're dead".

Lance sighed and looked Jake straight in the eye, "I'm the Kanto Regional Champion, and it is my duty to protect these people with everything I have, even if that means my life. I'm not leaving my planet while I'm still breathing".

Jake stared in silence for several seconds, before clarifying himself, "I mean for you to get out of this _cave_. Everyone's gathering in Saffron City, remember? It will be good for their morale to see you alive and kicking".

"What about Koga?" Bruno had the ninja master in his arms, "He's unconscious, but alive".

"We'll get him medical attention," Jake nodded, "But for now, let's get you out of here".

Lance approached his last Dragonite, which was dripping with numerous colours of blood and sweat. Its raspy breathing was also quite heavy.

"Thank you, for everything you've sacrificed today," Lance said solemnly as he recalled the dragon to its Poke Ball, "We're safe now".

With a heavy heart, Lance took one last look at the battlefield, before turning and following the others towards the waiting Pelican for evacuation.

END CHAPTER 13

**A bit of a dialogue-heavy chapter this time around, as well as a battle between the Covenant and the Elite Four/Wild Pokémon.**

**As I was writing this chapter, I started asking myself the same questions above about how an ODST, with only a single badge to his name, could legitimately come to obtain the Pokémon he has, so that's what the first half of this chapter is about.**

**Also, I personally think that the title of this fic was a little... lame. It sounded good at the time, so I just went with that, but now I'm having second thoughts about it, and I have decided to change it.**


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